“I’ll get straight to the point: I’m retiring,” Alex Morgan (United States, 35 years old) began her farewell to football in an emotional video on social media. Happy and proud, she leaves the sport of her life, aware of the path she has set, of being a reference on and off the field. One of the most media-savvy footballers who opened doors to an entire generation says goodbye abruptly, although already in the final stretch of her career. “Football has been a part of me for 30 years and it was one of the first things I loved. I have given everything for this sport, and what I got in return is more than I ever dreamed of,” she continued in the video. Her footballing twilight is not the only reason for her farewell: she will be, for the second time, a mother. “I am pregnant and, as unexpected as it may have been, we are very happy. For me, family is everything,” she confessed.
Morgan has been the star of the golden era of the United States national team alongside Megan Rapinoe, who retired last year. Legendary as an international, she scored 123 goals and gave 53 assists, and lifted the World Cup twice (2015 and 2019). She won the Champions League with Olympique Lyon in 2017, and also won the gold medal at the London 2012 Games. Now, however, her footballing figure has taken a backseat, converted into an icon, but losing weight in the team that so promoted her name around the world. Regular on the list of nominees for the Ballon d’Or, this year Morgan did not appear. A fact that added to the disappointment of the American player when the newcomer to the US bench Emma Hayes did not count on her for the Paris Games this past summer. It was the first time since 2008 that the footballer missed a major event with her country.
But her legacy is clear. “For me, success is defined as never giving up and giving it my all, and that’s what I do every day on the pitch. I did it off the pitch too. By relentlessly driving global investment in women’s sports because we deserve it, giving my all in my various businesses beyond the football field,” said Morgan, an advocate for gender equality and always involved in improving conditions and pay for female footballers. With millions of followers and a strong influence, she became a benchmark, also for motherhood in sport: she was one of the first great figures to become a mother. Now she will be a mother for the second time. “She approached me the other day, and I was very excited to see her as a mother.” [Charlie, su hija] “She told me that when she grows up she wants to be a soccer player, and that made me immensely proud. Not because I want her to become a soccer player when she grows up, but because there is a path that even a four-year-old can see. We are changing lives and the impact we have on the next generation is irreversible,” the footballer added.
He will play his last game with his team San Diego Wave on September 8 against the North Carolina Courage, months before the end of the American league. A sporting outcome accompanied by a long shadow of legacy.
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