190 international goals and 23 years later, Christine Sinclair is retiring from Canada duty.
40-year-old Sinclair's international goal record is unmatched in both the men's and women's game — Abby Wambach is closest with 184; Cristiano Ronaldo, the top international scorer for men, has 127. Sinclair's count is the product of six World Cups, four Olympics, and 327 caps for Sinclair.
Her retirement will be effective at the end of this year — though in a letter to her sixteen-year-old self published by the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail, she hints at another year with the Portland Thorns.
In the same letter she also reflects on her long career, from being "a four-year-old on a team with a bunch of six-year-olds, the Burnaby Bees," to winning Olympic gold.
What's clear is that the goals aren't the most significant part of Sinclair's legacy. She writes to her younger self, "Creating equity is what you will be most proud of."
"You will stand up to your federation to push forward on a landmark equal-pay agreement for the national team. You will help announce that a domestic professional women's football league is coming to Canada. You will inspire generations of young girls to kick a soccer ball for the first time with real dreams of playing professionally."
In the end it's a full-circle moment for the icon of Canada soccer. "Here I am in the 90th minute of the journey," she reflects.
"I suppose it will be fitting to end this thing the same way it started — with some tears, playing the game we love on some field in Vancouver. Home."
