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The US women's national team forward Alex Morgan has left the Orlando Pride team and returned to his hometown this offseason. Expansion clubs San Diego Wave Football Club and Orlando announced Monday a deal for the 32-year-old two-time World Cup champion.
It seems that both teams will need to wait until the NWSL Extended Draft on Thursday, December 16th before they can officially trade. Paramount+, CBS Sports HQ and CBS Sports Network will broadcast NWSL Expansion Draft and NWSL Draft on their platforms (December 18). Several clubs traded with the San Diego Waves and the Angel City Football Club before expanding their draft activities to obtain full roster protection or partial roster protection from the two expansion parties in California.
"For our club, our fans and our community, this is a very special moment to welcome Alex and her family to San Diego," said San Diego Wave President Gil Ellis, who had Coach Morgan won the US World Cup twice. "She is an extraordinary person, brilliant, and a leader on and off the court."
"As a native of Southern California, I am very happy to be able to make a long-term commitment to Wave FC and the City of San Diego," Morgan said. "I will go home to work with this ambitious new club and push the league forward for future generations of football players. I can't wait to start and I will do my best to help this great city win the championship. "
According to The Athletic's Meg Linehan, Orlando has released the following news regarding deals announced during the closing of the trading window before the draft:
"As the NWSL trading window is currently closed, Pride will continue to follow the club and league policies and will officially announce the transaction when the time is right."
Morgan is not the only important player leaving Orlando this offseason. In an earlier deal, the team bid farewell to the 2015 and 2019 World Cup champions Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris through a deal with New Jersey/New York Gotham Football Club. In exchange, Orlando received the first-round pick of the 2022 NWSL draft, the natural third-round pick of the 2023 NWSL draft, and a $50,000 grant. The Pride also hired long-time UCLA head coach Amanda Cromwell to fill their head coach vacancy.
Morgan’s move to San Diego marked her third time as a key player for the first team, as she started her NWSL club career at Portland Thorns FC in 2013 and then moved to Orlando before the 2016 expansion season .
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