Warren, one of PEOPLE's Women Changing the World in 2019, was hailed by Rapinoe "for being bold, for being real, for listening to ALL of us"

Elizabeth Warren‘s list of endorsements just got a little bit longer and a lot more athletic: Megan Rapinoe has picked the progressive Massachusetts senator as her choice for president in 2020.

“I truly believe the best things in life are a result of being bold and being real,” Rapinoe wrote on Instagram Friday. “This extends to every part of my life and nothing feels more relevant and real than this election. I'm proud to endorse @elizabethwarren today.”

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Warren, 70, one of PEOPLE's Women Changing the World in 2019, was lauded by Rapinoe “for being bold, for being real, for listening to ALL of us, and for being prepared to navigate the unique challenges we face today as a country.”

Rapinoe's endorsement on Instagram came alongside a video post showing her and Sen. Warren talking on the phone together.

“I just think that it's amazing. It's big, it's bold,” Rapinoe tells Warren in the video. “I just don't think we can get to a better place by walking this moderate line.”

Warren responded with a statement Friday morning, saying: “Megan is a champion of justice on and off the field and a role model for women and girls everywhere. I am honored to have her endorsement, and look forward to fighting alongside her for big, structural change.”

The Reign FC captain, 34, is not shy about her politics. At the same time that her soccer prowess has kept her in the international spotlight, with another World Cup win this summer in France, she has spoken her mind about LGBTQ rights, equal pay for women, her distaste for President Donald Trump‘s divisive style, her support of Colin Kaepernick‘s protest against police brutality and more.

“I'm from Trump country. But I'm able to travel the world and live in very liberal places now,” she recently told Sports Illustrated, which named her their Sportsperson of the Year. “I am sort of in all the worlds at once.”

Image zoom Megan Rapinoe Courtesy NBC Olympics

Image zoom Jeffrey A. Salter

Even at an event for the magazine to celebrate her honor, Rapinoe pointed out the lopsidedness of so few other women having been named before her.

“Am I only the fourth woman worthy of this honor in 60 years? … I don't think so,” she said.

But she can be deprecating about the spotlight she now carries around to put on issues. “I don't have plans for policies and how to implement them,” she told SI. “I'll just be the jabber.”

Warren has had a similarly meteoric 2019, in some ways: A two-term senator, lawyer and former teacher, she officially launched her campaign to challenge Trump in February.

Image zoom Megan Rapinoe (left) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren Michael Regan/FIFA via Getty Images; Matt Baron/Shutterstock

Image zoom Sen. Elizabeth Warren Joe Raedle/Getty Images

While she grappled with some initially tepid numbers and fundraising, by summer her slew of detailed I-can-fix-it plans, calling for “big, structural change” on everything from student loans to health care, had vaulted her to the top tier of Democratic candidates alongside former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Rapinoe isn't the first celebrity to endorse a presidential candidate in the upcoming 2020 election, before the calendar even turns.

Actor Jon Voight endorsed President Trump's re-election bid in early 2019, while Warren's celebrity endorsements include Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness and Scarlett Johansson.

Other Democratic hopefuls have gotten major celeb endorsements, too. Sen. Bernie Sanders got public support from pop stars Cardi B and Ariana Grande this year, while Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin threw his support behind former vice president Joe Biden.

Speaking with PEOPLE earlier this year, Warren reflected on the value of being one of multiple women in the 2020 race — and her bond with women and girls on the campaign trail.