US Female Footballer Megan Rapinoe Retires At The End Of The NWSL Season

American female footballer Megan Rapinoe. (Photo: Doc. Instagram @mrapinoe)

JAKARTA - United States female footballer Megan Rapinoe decided to retire at the end of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) season or the United States Women's Football National League.

Rapinoe will hang up his boots at the end of the NWSL season which is scheduled for the regular season to end in October and the play-off final on 11 November.

Quoting Antara, Sunday, July 9, the female footballer who won the 2019 Ballon D'or title made an announcement for his retirement ahead of competing in the 2023 Australian-New Zealand Women's World Cup.

"With great peace and gratitude and joy that I would like to share with you that this will be my last season, my last World Cup, and my last NWSL season. I never imagined where this beautiful game would take me," Megan Rapinoe told the BBC.

The announcement was made by Rapinoe ahead of a trial match between the US and Wales in preparation for the team for the Australian-New Zealand World Cup.

The owner of two Women's World Cup titles has played 199 times and scored 63 goals for the US since making her debut in a friendly against the Republic of Ireland in 2006.

In addition to presenting the Women's World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019 for the US, Rapinoe also brought the US to win a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

"I feel very honored to have represented this country and this federation for so many years, it's really the biggest thing I've ever done and something I'm really grateful for," said Rapinoe.

Rapinoe's career peak occurred in 2019 when he was named FIFA's best female player and won the World Cup gold shoes and along with the Ballon d'Or title.

Together with the US, Rapinoe is currently ambitious to win the Women's World Cup title in three consecutive editions to close a beautiful record of his football career.