Canadian legend Christine Sinclair announced Friday that she will retire from playing professional soccer at the end of the season.
The 41-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., said in a post on Instagram that she will finish out the National Women’s Soccer League campaign with the Portland Thorns, who are scheduled to finish out the regular season on Nov. 1.
“Portland, thank you will never be enough,” Sinclair posted with a photo of her huddling with her teammates on the pitch. “As I finish out this last ride, I want to say what a privilege it has been to represent this unique, beautiful and passionate city that I will always call home.”
Sinclair retired from the women’s national team last year after the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She helped Canada win gold at the Tokyo Olympics and bronze at both the 2016 Games in Rio and the 2012 Games in London.
She finished her international career as the world’s top goal scorer with 190 goals.
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.
“Christine, your achievements both on and off the field have set a new standard in Canadian sport,” Canada Soccer said in a statement. “You’ve paved the way for future generations, leaving behind a legacy that will continue to shape the future of soccer in Canada and around the world.
“Thank you for the unforgettable moments, for lifting Canadian soccer to new heights, and for your unwavering commitment to the game.”
Sinclair has played for Portland since the NWSL launched in 2013, and over 11 seasons has scored a team-high 64 goals.
She helped the Thorns win the inaugural NWSL championship, before adding additional titles in 2017 and 2022. She scored Portland’s first-ever goal in a match against FC Kansas City on April 13, 2013.
“Thorns FC is proud to honour the monumental career of our very own Christine Sinclair,” the Thorns said in a release.
“As No. 12 hangs up the boots, we thank her for her long-term commitment to our club and consider ourselves lucky to be able to witness the greatness and progress she created for soccer on a global landscape.”
Vancouver Rise FC of the newly formed Northern Super League has teased that Sinclair may take on a role with the club, posting a photo of her with the caption “Something BIG coming soon.”
“I still have the passion as that young four-year-old growing up in Burnaby, B.C., but as I hang up my playing boots, I vow to channel it in a new way. To continue growing the game I love while inspiring the next generation,” Sinclair wrote.
The Portland Thorns are scheduled to play the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite team in a CONCACAF W Champions Cup match at B.C. Place in Vancouver on Oct. 15.
A look at her glittering resume:
— Sinclair is the world’s all-time leading goal-scorer with 190 in 327 international appearances. That earned her The Best FIFA Special Award in January 2022.
— Sinclair has won Canada Soccer’s female player of the year 14 times — including a stretch of 11 straight years from 2004 to 2104 — and led the national team in scoring 16 years.
— She led Canada to bronze, bronze and gold medals at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games
— In December 2019, she was named the Canada Soccer player of the decade. Steven Reed, Canada Soccer’s then-president, called Sinclair “a once-in-a-generation athlete that has been at the heart of Canadian sport for over 20 years.”
— In 2012, Sinclair won both the Lou Marsh Trophy (Canadian athlete of the year, now known as the Northern Star Award) and The Canadian Press Female Athlete of the Year Award.
— Canada’s flag-bearer at the London Olympics’ closing ceremony in 2012, the veteran forward is a four-time finalist for FIFA World Player of the Year.
— Sinclair is also the first soccer player appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada, and the first to have her name engraved on Canada’s Walk of Fame.
— The Burnaby, B.C., product twice won the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy as the top NCAA women’s soccer player while at the University of Portland.
— She won WPS club titles with FC Gold Pride and the Western New York Flash in 2010 and 2011, and the NWSL championship in 2013, 2017 and 2022 with the Portland Thorns.
— After announcing her retirement from international soccer, Sinclair played her final game with Canada, a 1-0 win over Australia in a friendly in front of 48,112 hometown fans at Vancouver’s B.C. Place Stadium on Dec. 5, 2023.
— Sinclair, one of the founding players for the Portland Thorns in the National Women’s Soccer League, announced on Sept. 27, 2024, that she is retiring from the game. Portland will honour her before the final regular season home game on Nov. 1.
