Nadine Kessler, once one of the most exceptional midfielders in the world, has elected to end her career, citing a recurring knee injury as the main cause of the early retirement.

Kessler officially announced her retirement Thursday, 18 months after the nagging injury first derailed her hopes of playing in the 2015 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. The one-time FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year finished her international career with 29 caps and 10 goals in four active years with the German National Team. Kessler made her announcement in a statement to FIFA.

“It’s very difficult for me to accept the fact that I have to retire with injury problems. I’d like to thank Wolfsburg for some fantastic years with lots of success and countless unforgettable memories. I played football with passion and I had a profound love for the game. Now I am looking forward to new challenges and prospects.”

In 2009, 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam signed Kessler, and the young central midfielder did not disappoint, netting 11 goals in her rookie campaign as Potsdam finished at the top of the Frauen Bundesliga. Kessler would earn the title of league champion five more times after she transferred to Vfl Wolfsburg in 2011, including the never-before-completed trifecta of capturing the UEFA Women’s Champions League, Bundesliga, German Cup that Wolfsburg accomplished in 2012.

Kessler’s standout campaign came in 2014, the year she led Wolfsburg to titles in the Frauen Bundesliga and UEFA Women’s Championship league. She was named both UEFA’s Best Women’s Player in Europe and FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year in 2014, beating out Marta and Abby Wambach for FIFA’s highest individual honor. She was the second consecutive German player to earn the award, following Nadine Angerer’s victory in 2013.

In 2014, Kessler and the German national team won every qualifying match in the lead-up to the 2015 World Cup, but the injury bug struck again, keeping her out of the tournament and, after 18 months of surgeries and rehabilitation, eventually forcing her to retire. In a statement released to UEFA, German Coach Silvia Neid lamented the early end of Kessler’s career, but was positive about the 28-year old’s future:

“This is obviously a huge loss for women’s football in Germany. Nadine Kessler has outstanding footballing ability and an incredible personality – a role model both on and off the pitch. I’m very sorry to see her having to end her professional career. But I am sure even now she will find something to do now without being an active professional.”

In an interview with the German dfb.de, Kessler, who has not played since Sept. 21, 2014, said that while she has been out of action for over a year and a half, she held out hope for as long as possible, undergoing multiple surgeries, including one in March. She told the publication that she is not able to live her daily life without knee pain, but concluded that her days playing soccer had come to a close.

She told dfb.de that she is pushing ahead with a master’s program she is enrolled in and left the possibility open for a career in broadcasting.

soc-kessler