Ex-USMNT starlet Sebastian Soto announces retirement from football aged 25

Having caught the eye in his homeland, Soto took the decision to step out of his comfort zone and head for Europe while still in his teens - with inspiration being taken from fellow countrymen Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie after seeing them tread a similar path.

Soto said at the time, having landed himself a move to German side Hannover: "I've always had that dream of Europe, that was always my goal. We didn’t have so many guys to look up to. We had Christian and Weston and those guys, so when you make that move people look at you like you’re crazy, but everything has worked out well so far."

Soto, who had the option to step up in MLS, added on his brave career choice: "I’m all about working for what you want. Obviously playing professional for Real Salt Lake would have been a dream come true too, but I saw a path with Hannover.

"They speak to you like they want you to be with the first team. For me that’s the biggest thing, I wasn't going to Germany to play U19 Bundesliga forever, I wanted to be with the first team as fast as possible, and the fact they had that vision for me, and it's already shown, it was 100 per cent the right choice for me."

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Soto did make a breakthrough with Hannover, but found first-team opportunities hard to come by. He made his Bundesliga bow at the age of 18 in 2019, but was on the move to Norwich City in England the following year.

A series of loan spells were sanctioned there, with the most productive of those being spent in the Netherlands with Telstar. He had been starring at youth level with the United States, scoring four goals across five games at the 2019 U20 World Cup - including two against France in the round of 16.

He was subsequently drafted into the senior ranks and scored two goals when making his bow against Panama in 2020. He was just the fifth USMNT player to record a brace on debut, and only the second to achieve that feat as a substitute. He would earn just one more cap.

Injuries began to become an issue as Soto spent time with Telstar, Porto and Scottish side Livingston. He joined Austrian top-flight club SK Austria Klagenfurt in 2022, but made just 19 appearances before his contract was terminated in October 2024.

Having been out of the game for some time, Soto has now formally announced that his professional career is over via Instagram. New challenges are being sought and embraced by a man who, often through no fault of his own, failed to deliver on the hype that he once generated in the United States.