After 16 years, US women’s national team legend Carli Lloyd has said goodbye to international football and officially sealed her retirement on Tuesday night with a 6-0 win over South Korea.
The 39-year old served an illustrious career with the USWNT, ranking second for overall appearances with 316 and third in most goals ever scored with 134. She became the first ever American to score in four different Olympic games, and her total of 10 in the event set a new record among U.S. players.
Carli Lloyd has led the USWNT to two consecutive FIFA World Cup trophies, the first ever women’s team to complete the feat.
The forward recently penned an open letter to her fans through The Players Tribune to highlight special moments of her career, detailing that it wasn’t always easy but definitely worth it.
“Every single woman who pulls on that USWNT jersey and represents their country, they have sacrificed things that you wouldn’t imagine. We give our lives over to this game. Personally, I have gone through a lot of tough times. I have witnessed people close to me take advantage of me for their own benefit, I have been brainwashed and manipulated by some, and I even became separated from my family for 12 years — missing out on so many things. I pissed a lot of people off for being true to myself and not following the crowd. For not saying all the right things. I read and heard a lot of really hurtful things. I cried a lot of tears.
