Christine Sinclair, Canada’s all-time leading goal scorer, has announced her retirement from professional soccer.
On Friday, the Portland Thorns revealed that the 41-year-old Burnaby, BC, native was hanging up her cleats at the end of the ongoing National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) season.
View this post on Instagram
On the international stage, Sinclair retired from the Canadian Women’s National Team in December 2023 with 331 caps. The prolific striker’s international accolades include a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and bronze medals at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games.
For her final match with Canada — a friendly against Australia — Vancouver’s BC Place was temporarily renamed in her honour. The stadium was host to a huge crowd of 48,112, most of whom were there to bid farewell to the soccer icon.
“I’ve done everything I can on this national team,” Sinclair said after the match concluded in a 1-0 win for Canada. “I’m 100% satisfied and content.”
Along with logging 190 goals for her country, Sinclair has also had a successful tenure with the Thorns, winning three NWSL Championships (2013, 2017, and 2022) and two NWSL Shields (2016 and 2021). Prior to her time with Portland, she won two championships in the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) league with FC Gold Pride in 2010 and Western New York Flash in 2011.
Now in her 12th and final season with the Thorns, Sinclair has netted a total of 76 goals throughout her NWSL career, ranking third in league history.
She will play her last match for Portland on November 1 against Angel City FC.
- You might also like:
- Whitecaps beat Toronto in shootout to win Canadian Championship