U.S. Women’s Soccer Star Alex Morgan Signs With French Club Lyon

Alex Morgan, a star forward for the U.S. Women’s National Team and the Orlando Pride, has signed a half-season contract with French team Olympique Lyonnais, a club viewed by many as the best women’s club team in the world.

U.S. Women’s Soccer Star Alex Morgan Signs With French Club Lyon

The 27-year-old will join the Champions League holders in January and remain with the team through the end of the current season.

Morgan has scored 73 goals for the U.S. and been capped 120 times. She now joins a club that has won the last 10 French titles, and will rejoin the Pride in early June. Morgan said her ability to return to play for Orlando was an important factor in her decision to sign with Lyon.

“I will be immersed in a soccer culture that I believe is precisely what I need at this point in my career,” Morgan, who helped the U.S. women win 2012 Olympic gold in London, wrote in The Players Tribune on Tuesday. “I’m in my prime right now but that isn’t going to last forever. I’m not looking to coast. I want to be the best player in the United States and the best player in the world.”

 Morgan added she was happy to be healthy again this year, although she was disappointed with the U.S.’s quarterfinal exit from the Rio 2016 Olympics, as well as her own personal performance in the Summer Games.

Before going on a long-planned European vacation with her husband and family, Morgan visited Lyon for two days at the end of November to observe the facilities, as well as practices, and meet people at the club.

 “Every training is competitive,” Morgan said of Lyon, which features world-class players from Germany (Dzsenifer Marozsán), Norway (Ada Hegerberg), Japan (Saki Kumagai), Sweden (Caroline Seger) and France (Wendi Renard, Eugénie Le Sommer, Claire Lavogez, Camille Abily, Amel Majri and Élodie Thomis). “Going into a competitive environment like that where I need to show my best self every single day is going to definitely challenge me and make me prove my best every single day. I like that challenge. I also want to prove that I’m one of the best if not the best in the world at my position, and I think there’s no better way than to go in and play with the best.”

Morgan added she had spoken to several people about the decision to move: U.S. coach Jill Ellis, who gave her blessing; USWNT teammate Megan Rapinoe, who had previously played for Lyon, and former club teammate Seger, who had positive things to say about the club.

Morgan also said her husband, Carrasco, is renegotiating his deal with Orlando City, and they expect he will play with the team in 2017.

Finally, Morgan cited the uncertainty over the labor situation between the USWNT players and U.S. Soccer as another factor that influenced her decision to leave for France. The collective bargaining agreement expires on December 31, which means the contracts for Morgan and other national team players at the international and club level—U.S. Soccer pays the club salaries of national team players—will expire at the end of the month.

 BRASILIA, BRAZIL – AUGUST 12: Alex Morgan #13 of United States controls the ball against Nilla Fischer #5 of Sweden during the Women’s Football Quarterfinal match at Mane Garrincha Stadium on Day 7 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on August 12, 2016 in Brasilia, Brazil. Sweden won 1-1 (4-3 PSO) against the United States. (Photo by Celso Junior/Getty Images)