Retirement is never as easy as it seems. And when it comes to bringing the curtain down on a 19-year-long career, only a few can truly understand what Becky Sauerbrunn must have gone through. The USWNT icon, who earlier this month announced her retirement from the beautiful game, did so in a sound and simple manner rather than opting for a grandiose exit. But what if we told you it could have been the ‘end of 2023’ when Sauerbrunn thought of hanging up her boots?

They say everything is written by God and it happens the way it has to be. Even though the iconic defender quietly bid her farewell to the game, she did want to do so when things aligned the way she wanted them to be. “I think if 2023 had gone better and we’ve talked about how it was a real dumpster fire of a year for me for many reasons, I think the end of 23 would have been it,” began Sauerbrunn while speaking on Men in Blazers. “But because it was so rough it just didn’t feel right to say goodbye in that way.”

That only led the former Portland Thorns star to enter 2024 while wearing her boots and doing “all the things that a soccer player gets to do.” In simpler terms, it wasn’t any particular moment when Becky woke up and thought about retirement. Instead, the former Utah Royals defender recalls it was a gradual process, where aside from being with the WNT for one last time, she got to enjoy the NWSL playoffs with Portland Thorns.

“It became this bigger snowball and eventually, I was kind of processing the whole season and looking back and just being, ‘Yeah, that’s exactly what I wanted to do with this year,'” added Sauerbrunn, defining her exact call it quits moment.

A foot injury denied her wish to play in the 2023 World Cup and her misery continued as Emma Hayes snubbed her for the subsequent Paris Olympics. Then again, she at least saw this year as the perfect time to call it a day, even though she could have gone a couple more years!

Becky Sauerbrunn is not at ‘peace’ with her retirement!

Though the St. Louis, Missouri native gave every reasons why she quit soccer, Sauerbrunn had a small voice inside her that said she could have gone a bit more. “I’m not going to say I’m not at peace with it. I’ve talked to Pinoe, Kelly, and Alex and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah I’m at peace with it’ and I’m like, ‘nah’. I don’t think I’m ever going to be at peace with it. I feel like I probably could have gone another year, maybe two years,” said the former Utah Royals center-back.

Then again, the silver lining exists in her retirement, which the 39-year-old was able to see. “But I also worry that you never know what the end of your career is going to look like,” added Sauerbrunn, thinking what if she had picked up an injury, or isn’t the coach’s preference and getting enough minutes? “So, to be able to end as much on my terms as I could be, I feel fortunate and I think it’s pretty rare in this game to be able to kind of end it on your terms as much as you can,” concluded Becky.

When do you think Becky Sauerbrunn should have retired? Let us know in the comments.