Denmark international Rikke Sevecke announced her retirement from soccer at the age of 27 after saying on Friday that she cannot continue her career due to a heart condition.Sevecke, who made more than 50 appearances for Denmark, played for Everton in the Women's Super League before moving to Portland Thorns in September.
However, she did not make a single appearance for the American side."It's hard to know where to start. I've been playing soccer since I could walk and it's always been a big part of my life.
But that stops now," she wrote on Instagram."Over the past few months I've had some tests done and I recently got the results back saying that I have a heart condition."This means that I am not allowed to continue playing professional football and I have therefore had to stop my football career immediately.
It's extremely hard not to be able to make this decision when I felt the time was right."Sevecke is not the first player to prematurely retire due to a heart condition.In December 2021, Argentina striker Sergio Aguero was forced to retire at 33 due to a heart condition while Lucas Leiva retired last year with a similar issue."You should be immensely proud of what you have achieved, Rikke.