Sports

Christine Sinclair announces she’ll retire from pro soccer at the end of the NWSL season

By ANNE M. PETERSON (AP Soccer Writer)
PORTLAND, Ore. Sept. 27, 2024 5:03 p.m.
FILE - Portland Thorns midfielder Christine Sinclair during an NWSL soccer match against Gotham FC, March 24, 2024, in Portland, Ore. Sinclair announced she will retire at the end of the NWSL season.

FILE - Portland Thorns midfielder Christine Sinclair during an NWSL soccer match against Gotham FC, March 24, 2024, in Portland, Ore. Sinclair announced she will retire at the end of the NWSL season.

Amanda Loman / AP

Christine Sinclair, one of the founding players for the Portland Thorns in the National Women’s Soccer League, announced on Friday that she retiring from the game.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

Sinclair will finish out the season with the Thorns. Portland plans to honor her before the final regular season home game on Nov. 1.

The 41-year-old Sinclair retired from the Canadian national team last year, finishing her international career as the world's top goal scorer among both women and men with 190 goals.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

Sinclair is among just three active players in the National Women’s Soccer League who have played for the same team since the league launched in 2013.

She helped the Thorns win the inaugural NWSL championship, before adding additional titles titles in 2017 and 2022. She scored Portland’s first-ever goal in a match against FC Kansas City on April 13, 2013.

Over 11 seasons she has scored a club record 64 goals with the team, ranking her third all-time in the league.

With the Canadian national team, Sinclair won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. She won bronze medals at both the 2012 and 2016 Games.

She is also among just five players to appear in six Women's World Cups, and one of just three players to score in five. But a World Cup trophy eluded her.

OPB’s Geoff Norcross spoke with Christine Sinclair in 2022 upon release of her memoir. Listen to their conversation in the player below.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:
THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR: