Christen Press announces retirement from soccer following 2025 NWSL season

Photo Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Christen Press, a two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion and Olympic bronze medalist, has announced she will retire from professional soccer following the 2025 National Women’s Soccer League season.

Press — who is 36-years-old — is a forward with Angel City FC. She joined the Los Angeles club in 2022 and has since made 37 regular-season appearances.

“I’m retiring from professional soccer and I’ve decided that this is my last season and my last few games,” Press said on Good Morning America. “I thought I would wait until I didn’t want to play anymore, but I realized… that time is never going to come.”

A World Cup champion in 2015 and 2019, Press made 155 international appearances for the U.S. women’s national team. She was also on the U.S. bronze medal-winning team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She has 64 national team goals to her name. Press was on the U.S. teams that won four SheBelieves Cups, two Concacaf Women’s Championship titles, two Algarve Cup titles and one Tournament of Nations trophy.

She began her professional career in 2011 with magicJack in the former Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) league. Press then took her career abroad to Europe, featuring for Swedish club Göteborg FC, then joineing Tyresö FF for the 2013-14 season.

Press then came back to the United States, joining the Chicago Red Stars in 2014. She remained with the club for four seasons, making 60 regular-season appearances. She went back to Sweden in 2018, signing with Göteborg for one season, before returning to the U.S. again. Back in the NWSL, she featured for the Utah Royals from 2018-20 and made 25 regular-season appearances.

She and her U.S. teammate — and now-wife — Tobin Heath signed with Manchester United of England’s Women’s Super League in 2020. After two years in England, she joined her hometown club, Angel City.

Press has scored 49 NWSL regular-season goals in 122 league matches.