Clint Dempsey opens up about why he retired suddenly

Ever since he quietly announced his retirement in the middle of the 2018 season with a simple Instagram post, Clint Dempsey has mostly receded from public life. Aside from popping up randomly on social media, we’ve barely heard a word from him about why he retired when he did, his legacy or what he plans to do with the rest of his life.

That he showed up for a nearly hour-long interview on a podcast hosted by former United States national teammates Oguchi Onyewu and DaMarcus Beasley was notable by itself. That he was so forthcoming about what motivated him, his mindset at the time he retired and even some of the more notorious stories surrounding his off-field persona was downright…