Error code: %{errorCode}

Soccer

Who is Christine Sinclair? The Canadian that tops football's all-time international goal scoring charts

Who is Christine Sinclair? The Canadian that tops football's all-time international goal scoring chartsGetty

Christine Sinclair announced Friday that she's calling it a career on the international stage at the end of 2023.

The Canadian has been a stalwart for her national team since 2000, making her international debut at 16 years of age.

Now 40, Sinclair will play two more matches for Canada before stepping away from the international game that she helped define. The soft-spoken B.C. native still plans on playing at least another season in the NWSL for the Portland Thorns, but November will see her don the Maple Leaf for the last time.

To say Sinclair's had an epic career is a massive undertstatement.

sinclair-202100806-getty-ftr(Getty Images)

How many goals has Christine Sinclair scored?

Sinclair not only tops the all-time chart for women's international goals, she also has more goals than men's leader Cristiano Ronaldo. 

With 190 goals in 322 appearances for Canada (and counting), Sinclair has scored four more than former all-time leader Abby Wambach of the United States.

It seems as though Sinclair's record should be safe for quite a while — the only active woman in the top 10 is Alex Morgan, who has 121 goals to her name.

At the club level, Sinclair has over 100 goals split between three different teams.

What has Christine Sinclair won in her career?

The pinnacle of Sinclair's career came when she helped Canada win the Olympic gold medal at Tokyo 2020, her third Olympic medal (having won bronze at London 2012 and Rio 2016).

Sinclair also led her country to a CONCACAF Women's Championship in 2010 and a Pan-American Games gold in 2011.

For club, Sinclair won silverware at all three of her teams — WPS Championships in 2010 (FC Gold Pride) and 2011 (Western New York Flash), and three NWSL Championships with the Thorns (2013, 2017, 2022).

Additionally, Sinclair and the Thorns have also won the NWSL Shield (2016, 2021), the NWSL Challenge Cup (2021) and the NWSL Community Shield (2020), 

Has Christine Sinclair ever won the FIFA Women's Player of the Year award?

Amazingly, no.

The most prolific goal scorer in the history of international football has somehow never even finished in the top three in the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year and The Best FIFA Women's Player voting, despite excelling in a career that spanned over two decades.

Perhaps even more surprising is that she's never been named to a FIFA FIFPRO Women's World 11.

Watch on YouTube