TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Retirement
Atlanta United center back Michael Parkhurst on Monday announced his decision to retire at the end of the 2019 season, calling time on an impressive playing career that included five MLS Cup final trips and more than two dozen appearances for the US men's national team.
One of the best defenders in MLS history, Parkhurst is a six-time MLS All-Star who won the Rookie of the Year award in 2005 with the New England Revolution and helped the Revs reach three consecutive MLS Cup finals from 2005-07, though he and his teammates experienced heartbreaking losses in all three. Known for his superb timing and vision, he won the 2007 Defender of the Year award while committing just five fouls that entire campaign.
By then a member of the USMNT pool, he would move on to Europe in 2008, where he played for Danish side Nordsjælland and spent time in the Bundesliga with Augsburg before returning home in 2014 to join Columbus Crew SC. There he anchored the back line for Gregg Berhalter's side and reached MLS Cup 2015, only to suffer another painful loss in the title bout.
Parkhurst was traded to Atlanta ahead of the Five Stripes' 2017 expansion debut and he quickly became a bedrock element of Gerardo "Tata" Martino's side, captaining the squad and finally tasting MLS Cup glory with last year's championship win over the Portland Timbers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
