Even though you saw it coming, it will still move you. USWNT soccer legend Alex Morgan has announced her retirement and the emotions can’t stop flowing for sport lovers across the globe. With a senior career spanning over 14 years, numbers cannot show how she has contributed to her clubs and the Stars and Stripes. However, the San Diego Wave forward was left out of the 2024 Olympic roster by the new coach Emma Hayes leaving the fraternity astonished. While the exclusion was hard for the 2-time World Cup winner, Morgan also chose to call it quits from professional soccer and will play her last game against North Carolina Courage on Sunday. But what is the reason for her retirement?

Announcing her exit from professional soccer, Alex Morgan stated what went through her mind while taking this step. She said, “I have so much clarity about this decision and I am so happy to be able to finally tell you. It has been a long time coming and this decision wasn’t easy but at the beginning of 2024 I felt in my heart and soul that this was the last season that I would play soccer,” suggesting that she went by her instincts.

In addition, the 35-year-old stated that she is pregnant with her second child, which may have driven the decision further. But a thought would have struck the supporters’ mind after the USWNT under Emma Hayes decided to move on with a young squad ahead. Morgan did not represent her country in the Games after 3 editions, which disappointed her.

Coming to the Olympics, The USWNT’s 2012 gold medal campaign was fueled by the California-born player who contributed four goals and three assists. Morgan scored her most famous goal in the same game in the extra-time of the semifinals against Canada. She leaves the national team as their 5th highest scorer of all time apart from her two World Cups and many other accolades. But she chose club soccer to be her last professional spell professionally.

An inevitable move by Alex Morgan leaves no shock

While the national team’s chances looked bleak, her club soccer’s future was following a similar line. Alex Morgan represented multiple clubs including Lyon in France and Tottenham Hotspur in England. But she will be one of NSWL’s favorites, leaving the league as its fourth-highest scorer. However, the past year has seen a slight decline in her prowess. The former Orlando striker went blank in last year’s World Cup but said that she was “not planning to hang up my boots anytime soon,” then after USWNT’s round of 16 exit.

But as early as 2024, a feeling to move into the next stage of life was a turning point. Morgan’s spells subsequently started to go low. Although she scored twice in the Gold Cup earlier this year, she wasn’t able to register herself on the scorebooks for the Wave. Moreover, her ankle injury in April this year also didn’t help her cause subsequently resulting in her exclusion from Paris. Nevertheless, as one of USWNT’s all-time greats leaves, the sport and the fanatics will never forget her distinctions.