US icon Megan Rapinoe says goodbye to the international football stage at the World Cup. She also leaves a great legacy off the pitch.
Megan Rapinoe received the highest acclaim for her fundamental achievements on and off the pitch.
“Congratulations on an incredible career,” wrote US President Joe Biden on Twitter – and raved about a “world champion and Olympic champion, recipient of the Medal of Freedom, tireless advocate of equal pay for women and dignity and respect for all.” With Rapinoe, one of the most influential figures in women’s football is stepping down.
The US icon will attack one last time on the big stage at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, and in the autumn it will also be over in the domestic professional league NSWL at Seattle Reign.
She goes with a “deep sense of peace and gratitude,” wrote the Olympic champion and two-time world champion under a child’s photo on Twitter that shows her in a Mickey Mouse shirt and with her tongue out.
A lot has happened in women’s football
“I never imagined that football would change my life forever, but this little girl’s look shows that she always knew it,” said Rapinoe.
She is part of a generation “whose farewell the game is undoubtedly better than when it started.” And the best woman and top scorer of 2019 undoubtedly played a huge part in that.
The 38-year-old was even more impressive off the pitch than she was on the pitch. As a courageous activist against discrimination, the 199-time national player did not shy away from confrontation, even having a public dispute with Donald Trump about a visit to the White House during the 2019 World Cup.
And with her team, “Pinoe” also won equal pay – a collective agreement that guarantees all US national players the same pay as the (much less successful) national players.
In 2022, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Biden, the highest civilian honor in the United States. And even after her career, Rapinoe, who has been openly homosexual since 2012, will certainly continue to fight against injustice. “I look forward to seeing you continue to help people believe in themselves and in the possibilities of our nation,” Biden mused.