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11 months ago
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Retired soccer star Megan Rapinoe arrived back in New York on Thursday after attending former teammates Jess Fishlock and Tziarra King's wedding in Wales.
Rapinoe, who brought the curtain down on her career last month after limping out of her final game with an Achilles injury, jetted to the UK with fiancée Sue Bird to watch OL Reign stars Fishlock and King tie the knot this week.
As she touched back down at JFK Airport, the former USWNT star cut a glum figure alongside Bird while wearing a boot on her injured right leg.
Fishlock and King were joined by female soccer royalty at their wedding in the former's hometown of Abergavenny - which is near Cardiff, the Welsh capital - with other Reign stars including Alana Cook and Lauren Barnes attending as well as Rapinoe.
Recently-retired Ali Krieger was also in Abergavenny, as were Fishlock’s Wales teammates Gemma Evans and Angharad James and former England star Anita Asante.
Megan Rapinoe arrived back in New York on Thursday after attending former teammates Jess Fishlock and Tziarra King's wedding in Wales
Rapinoe cut a glum figure alongside fiancee Sue Bird after jetting back into JFK Airport
The retired soccer star was wearing a boot on the right leg she injured in her final ever game
She headed to Wales this week to watch Reign stars Fishlock (left) and King (right) tie the knot
After sharing a photo of her and Rapinoe suited and booted for the wedding, Bird was forced to clarify that they were not the ones getting married this week.
The former WNBA player said on Instagram: 'PSA: Megan & I did NOT get married - Sorry for the confusion. I guess the fits were too good.'
Rapinoe watched Fishlock and King tie the knot following the release of Netflix docuseries Under Pressure, in which she opened up on her final appearance at the World Cup over the summer.
The 38-year-old, who played an integral part in USA's victories at the 2015 and 2019 tournaments, revealed in a press conference ahead of the 2023 showpiece that she would retire at the end of the season.
And she opened up on the significance of her final World Cup during the second episode of the series.
'I think it's just such a different feeling knowing that this is going to be my last World Cup, being kind of an old head and having a different role on the team,' Rapinoe said.
'It means a lot to me in a lot of different ways than the other ones did. Yeah, this one's very special.'
Rapinoe, who publicly came out in 2012 ahead of the London Olympics, is an outspoken LBGTQ+ advocate who helped the US women's players obtain a new labor deal with the USSF that effectively pays female athletes the same as their male counterparts.
Rapinoe was seen touching back down in New York after Netflix's Under Pressure docuseries, in which she makes an appearance, was released this week
Former WNBA star Bird had to clarify that her and Rapinoe were not the ones getting married
But she truly cemented her position as an outspoken figure for the American fanbase when she took the knee during the national anthem in 2016, becoming one of the first white athletes to do so.
Former teammates and USWNT legends paid tribute to the forward, praising her for her work on and off the field.
'I know that a lot of what the world knows of her is the way that she speaks out and speaks up for those who can't, said Abby Wambach, who won a World Cup in 2015 alongside Rapinoe.
'But I do think that we have lost the plot a little bit. Like, she's a f***ing excellent soccer player, always has been, and that's why you listen to her.'
English (US)