Clint Dempsey won’t be returning to the professional soccer field.
The 35-year-old hasn’t been in action much with the Sounders lately, battling some persistent injuries including back issues and watching on as Seattle makes a late-season push with new forward Raul Ruidiaz leading the line. Now, he’s decided it’s time to end his career.
Like so many decisions he’s made during his career, whether it was to chip the Juventus goalkeeper in the Europa League (“Nine times out of 10 you won't make it but sometimes you've got to take a risk,” he said) or to make a surprise switch to Major League Soccer, he’s made it definitively and on his own terms.