Almuth Schult Retires: European Clubs Reluctant to Sign Players with Children

Almuth Schult, former German national team goalkeeper, Olympic gold medalist and Champions League winner, announced her retirement in March — three months after her contract ended with Kansas City Current in the United States National Women’s Soccer League.

In an interview with Kicker magazine, the 34-year-old goalkeeper shared her perspective on European clubs’ attitude towards female players with children.

“I feel like in Europe it is still not yet normal for a female soccer player to have children. Whether the clubs admit it or not, that’s my subjective impression,” said Schult.

Schult — who represented Germany 66 times — gave birth to twins in 2020 and a third child in 2023. She believes she could have played “one or two years at the highest level”, but clubs only offered third-choice goalkeeper positions.

The 2016 Olympic gold medalist and 2014 Champions League winner with Wolfsburg compared the difference in support between American and European clubs.

“My career would presumably have taken a different course if I’d had the same support as I recently received in the U.S.,” she added.