Sinclair staying 1 more year at Portland Thorns after Canada retirement

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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Christine Sinclair, the world's top international goal scorer among both women and men, will play one more season for her club team, the Portland Thorns.

The team announced Monday it had signed the free agent forward to a one-year deal. Sinclair, 40, is one of just three active players in the National Women's Soccer League who have played for the same team since the league launched in 2013.

"Are you ready for one more year, Portland?” Sinclair announced on social media, posing with the NWSL trophies she won with the Thorns in 2013, 2017 and 2022.

She leads the Thorns with 62 goals — third most in league history — in 176 appearances over 11 seasons. She scored Portland’s first-ever goal in a match against FC Kansas City on April 13, 2013.

"Sinc has been with this club from the beginning, she is the foundation with which Portland Thorns is built on, and as much as she is a part of the DNA of the Thorns, the Thorns are part of her DNA," Portland general manager Karina LeBlanc said in a statement.

Sinclair retired from her 23-year international career with Canada in December with a 1-0 victory over Australia in Vancouver.

She scored 190 goals for Canada over the course of her career. Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, the game's top scorer among men, has 128 international goals.

With Sinclair, Canada won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. She won bronze medals at both the 2012 and 2016 Games.

She's also among just five players to appear in six Women's World Cups, and one of just three players to score in five. But a World Cup trophy eluded her.

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