The combative and prolific United States national team striker Clint Dempsey, who played and scored in three straight World Cups, is retiring from soccer.
The Seattle Sounders of M.L.S. announced Wednesday that Dempsey — one of the most successful American soccer exports to Europe before the Sounders brought him back to the U.S. five years ago — has decided to walk away immediately, even though the M.L.S. regular season runs through the end of October.
“After a lot of thought, my family and I have decided that this is the right time for me to step away from the game,” Dempsey, 35, said in a statement released by the Sounders.