USWNT great Christen Press to retire at the end of the 2025 NWSL season

One of the most electrifying players in US women’s soccer has called it a career.

Christen Press, who starred for the US women’s national team over 155 appearances from 2013 to 2021, announced on Wednesday that she would be retiring as a player at the conclusion of the 2025 NWSL season with Angel City FC.

Press, 36, shared the news in an interview on ABC morning show Good Morning America.

“I feel a mix of everything,” she said. “There’s relief, there’s joy, there’s excitement, there’s fear, there’s so much grief. I have so much grief, a part of me, a piece of me, I’m losing her.”

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Like most women’s soccer players of her generation, Press enjoyed a meandering professional club career that started in Florida with MagicJack in Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS). When that league folded, Press moved to Sweden with Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC and Tyresö before returning stateside in the newly launched NWSL with the Utah Royals and Chicago Red Stars. She made 14 appearances for Manchester United in the 2020-21 WSL season, but returned to her home town of Los Angeles for the launch of Angel City in 2022.

Press will be remembered most for her national team career, which saw her play a key role in the United States’ triumphs in the 2015 and 2019 Women’s World Cups. Whether as a starter or an effective substitute, Press’ speed, finishing, and ability with the ball at her feet was a key component of those teams. In total, Press scored 64 goals for the US national team – one more than teammate Megan Rapinoe and good for ninth on the all-time scoring charts for the US.

Press’s later playing career was unfortunately marked by a extended injury struggles and a sudden absence from the USWNT picture. Shortly before making that move to LA, Press took a break from the US national team for mental health reasons, and then-head coach Vlatko Andonovski left her off his US rosters after she said she was available to return in 2022.

Press tore her ACL in June of 2022 – an injury that ended up requiring multiple surgeries to fully repair. In total, the injury kept Press out of action until the 2024 season and effectively ended her national team career, though her comeback with Angel City has been hailed as inspiring by many across the world of women’s soccer.

Press has already gotten a head start on several off the field ventures. Along with her wife and former teammate Tobin Heath, Press hosts the popular Re–Cap podcast, which is part of a broader Re– brand overseen by Press. Press and Heath’s relationship was kept publicly under wraps for years before the pair officially announced that they were married earlier this year. Heath, Press’ teammate with the US, retired earlier in 2025.

“She would absolutely hate me saying this, but a lot,” she said of whether Heath’s decision contributed to her own retirement. “I think it is time for my family to move on to our next chapter, we’re going to be a part of this game forever, but it’s time for it to look different for us.”