Marco Reus
No, Marco Reus is not retired, he's captain of LA Galaxy on a contract running through December 2027, turning 37 on 31 May 2026 and still very much playing.
The context
Marco Reus is trending because the football world is connecting dots: the 2026 World Cup kicks off on 11 June in his adopted MLS country (USA/Mexico/Canada), Germany is in the tournament without him, and he just turned 37. It’s the kind of bittersweet moment that makes fans look back, and forward.
The immediate trigger is a 30 May 2026 interview with Sports Illustrated Deutschland, published the day before his birthday, in which Reus said Jürgen Klopp would one day make an excellent Germany coach, while carefully praising current boss Julian Nagelsmann. A former BVB icon talking up his former club manager, days before a World Cup, is catnip for football media.
Reus joined LA Galaxy in August 2024, won the MLS Cup that same year, and on 28 February 2026 the club extended his deal through December 2027, handing him the captain’s armband. Far from winding down, he is the symbolic face of Galaxy’s project.
His Borussia Dortmund chapter (2012–2024) defined him: 12 years, two DFB-Pokals, two Champions League final appearances, and two German Footballer of the Year awards. He never won the Bundesliga or a World Cup, the two holes in an otherwise remarkable career, which is why every World Cup cycle reignites the “what could have been” conversation.