Former
The 32-year-old Aluko announced her retirement in a post on The Players’ Tribune website, saying she was proud to have been part of a generation of female players who used their “voices and their feet to break barriers all over the world” and moved into a “more empowered position.”
Aluko, who left
The following year, she said she was subjected to “bullying and discrimination” by then-England coach
As part of the case, it was revealed that an 80,000 pound (
In her post, Aluko said “there have been other moments when I have thought about leaving” soccer.
“I’m talking about the racism, the abuse on social media, all that,” she said. “Women do not earn much in football, we play because we love the game. Sometimes I have thought, ‘Is it worth it? Do I love you enough?’ And every time the answer has been yes.”
Aluko played for
Aluko has also worked in recent years as a newspaper columnist and a TV commentator.
“Some people say that you are just a sport, but you have taught me so much about life,” she wrote in her “thank you” letter to soccer. “You have shown me how to work with others, how to set targets and achieve them, how to embrace challenges. You have given me highs that I never thought were possible, and lows that challenged me to my core — but that also made me strong and resilient.”
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