Carli Lloyd will retire at the end of the season; the 39-year-old will feature for the United States in the autumn before calling time on her decorated international career, which includes two World Cups and two Olympic golds; she has scored 128 goals in 312 appearances
Monday 16 August 2021 16:54, UK
Carli Lloyd has announced she will retire at the end of the year after a storied career which has seen the US Soccer legend rack up more than 300 international appearances.
The 39-year-old will play her last match for the national team in the autumn - with their schedule to be confirmed soon - and will then play the remainder of the National Women's Soccer League season with NJ/NY Gotham FC.
Lloyd, who made her international debut in 2005, has made 312 appearances for USA, scoring 128 goals.
"When I first started out with the national team in 2005, my two main goals were to be the most complete soccer player I could be and to help the team win championships." said Lloyd.
"Every single day I stepped out onto the field, I played as if it was my last game. I never wanted to take anything for granted, especially knowing how hard it is to get to the top, but even harder to stay at the top for so long."
The second-most capped American ever behind only Kristine Lilly (354 appearances), Lloyd appeared at four World Cups and four Olympic Games.
She scored a hat-trick in just 17 minutes in the 2015 World Cup final against Japan, and was part of the squad as they defended their title in 2019.
Lloyd, who was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 2015, also has two gold medals to her name, and most recently won bronze at Tokyo 2020 when scoring twice to help USA beat Australia.
"I would like to thank US Soccer for helping to provide the opportunities and memories that will last a lifetime. I am forever grateful to have represented the crest and to be able to play for my country for the last 17 years," Lloyd added.
"I will continue to support and cheer this team on and continue to find ways to help grow the game and inspire the next generation.
"To end my career knowing my family was able to be by my side and share this last chapter with me could not have been any more special. We will all have a lot more time to spend together now, and especially with my husband Brian, who has been my rock and biggest support system for all these years.
"We are both looking forward to starting this next chapter of our lives without my everyday grind of training and playing, but I will most likely need to another outlet for my competitiveness! Perhaps that will be golf?"
