This day eventually had to come but we didn’t expect it would so early. Alex Morgan officially announced her decision to part ways from the beautiful game forever on Thursday, sending shockwaves within the soccer world. While addressing her retirement was no less than an emotional turmoil, the USWNT star is still proud of leaving a strong ‘impact’ on her toddler daughter Charlie.

A trailblazer in the fight against USSF for equal pay, no one would deny the impact Morgan had in soccer beyond the pitch. Not only did it inspire millions of girls to take up soccer, but even the NWSL star’s own daughter. The little one brought a smile to her mother’s face, who was bracing for the saddest day in her life. “Charlie came up to me the other day and said when she grows up she wants to be a soccer player,” she said in the retirement announcement video. 

“It just made me immensely proud, not because I wish for her to become a soccer player when she grows up, but because a pathway exists that even a 4-year-old can see now,” said Morgan while trying to hold herself. Somehow, the 35-year-old has brought a radical change through her illustrious soccer career that spanned more than 14 years.  

In fact, as one of the advocates of the women’s side of the game, nothing makes Morgan more happy than the fact that the female sport is finally getting the recognition that it deserves. “We’re changing lines and the impact we have on the next generation is irreversible. I’m proud of the hand I have in making that happen, in pushing the game forward and leaving it in a place where I’m so happy,” added the USA icon.

It’s good to see Charlie take up a career that her mom rocked for more than a decade. Either way, the toddler surely has the best coach one could possibly have as Morgan would surely shape out a remarkable career for her little one. However, this isn’t the only happy news that the San Diego Wave star had before retirement.

Alex Morgan announces Charlie is going to be a ‘big sister’

Alex Morgan is soon to become a mother of two. The 35-year-old recently revealed that she is expecting another child with her husband, former Seattle Sounders midfielder Servando Carrasco. “Charlie is gonna be a big sister. I’m pregnant,” she said in the 4:30 minute-long clip. “As unexpected as this came, we’re so overjoyed. To me family means everything. I wouldn’t be here without my husband and family.” 

Though the announcement came at a bittersweet moment—coming to terms with the fact that she would no longer be playing soccer—it marks an important turning point in her life. Rather than opting for maternity leave, Morgan decided to retire and dedicate herself to being a full-time parent alongside Carrasco, who had already retired at age 32 in 2020 when their daughter Charlie was born.

Be that as it may, Alex Morgan would be keen to start a new chapter of life. Though fans are certainly going to miss her, stick around as having successfully inspired her daughter, another Morgan is in the making!