TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Retirement
Veteran forward Tosaint Ricketts announced his retirement from professional soccer on Tuesday, calling it a career after 14 years and stops at 10 clubs in seven different countries.
Major League Soccer was the 35-year-old's home for most of the last seven seasons, first with Toronto FC (2016-2018) before representing fellow Canadian side Vancouver Whitecaps FC between 2019-2022. He'll remain with the 'Caps as liaison of club and player engagement.
Ricketts, a former Canadian international who scored 17 goals over 61 senior caps with Les Rogues while also participating in the 2007 U-20 FIFA World Cup, was part of TFC's treble-winning (MLS Cup, Supporters' Shield, Canadian Championship) squad in 2017. He captured the latter competition on two more occasions (2018 with Toronto and 2022 with Vancouver), concluding his MLS career with 22g/5a in 119 regular-season and Audi MLS Cup Playoff games.
“As I look back on my soccer career, I can't help but feel a sense of joy and fulfillment,” Ricketts said in an official statement. "I want to thank everyone who has been a part of this journey - my family, friends, coaches, teammates and of course, the supporters!
"... Thank you for being a part of my journey!”
Ricketts' professional club journey began in 2009 with Myllykosken Pallo of Finland. Additional stops in Romania, Norway, Turkey, Israel and Turkey once again followed before he signed with Toronto midway through the 2016 season. With the Reds, he produced 16 goals and three assists across 66 appearances in all competitions.
In 2019 Ricketts briefly returned to Europe, helping FK Sūduva Marijampole win the Lithuanian Super Cup in 2019 by scoring the title-winning goal in a 2-0 victory against FK Zalgiris Vilnius. By year's end he was back in MLS, this time with the Whitecaps.
In total, he tallied seven goals in 65 appearances across all competitions for Vancouver, winning club Humanitarian of the Year honors for three straight seasons (2020, 2021, 2022).
“First of all, we want to congratulate Tosaint on an incredible career and thank him for all his contributions on the field for our club,” Whitecaps chief executive officer and sporting director Axel Schuster said in a press release. “He has been a key presence in our locker room with his leadership qualities and showed a desire to give his all every time he put on our jersey. We are excited to continue having Tosaint as part of our club in his role of liaison of club and player engagement. ”
Rickets is the second Whitecaps player to retire this offseason, after Florian Jungwirth announced the end of his career last week. The club, who missed out on the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs last season, get their 2023 MLS campaign underway on Feb. 25 when hosting Real Salt Lake (10:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
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