Rapinoe named highest-paid women's footballer of 2023

Former United States and OL Reign star Megan Rapinoe has been named the highest-paid women's footballer of 2023.

The 38-year-old did not have a fairytale ending to her playing career but enjoyed huge success off the field.

According to Forbes, Rapinoe has earned a total of £6.4million this calendar year with the vast majority of the sum coming from endorsements and sponsorships.

Part of Rapinoe's off-field success has come through the recording of instructional videos which are available to watch on NBC's new streaming service SportsEngine Play.

Her international colleague Alex Morgan also made it into Forbes' list of the top 20 earners among female athletes — the free-scoring striker pocketed £6.1m over the course of the year.

Rapinoe's retirement

While there was enormous financial success off the field, the conclusion of Rapinoe's playing days was far from ideal.

She was one of three players to miss a penalty in a shootout as the US crashed out of the World Cup in the last 16 against Sweden.

And the final match of the American icon's career — the 2023 National Women's Soccer League championship game between OL Reign and Gotham FC — saw her suffer a torn Achilles in just the third minute.

OL Reign went on to lose the game 2-1 but Rapinoe found time to reflect on her past successes in a post-match interview.

She said: "I feel great about my career.

"I feel so lucky and so grateful to have played as long as I've played and to have played with the incredible players that I've played with."