Borussia Dortmund, who are currently leading the Bundesliga, have announced that they have extended their captain Marco Reus’ contract for one year until 2024. Reus, who has been named German Footballer of the Year twice, was previously set to become a free agent at the end of this season.
Reus is a 33-year-old football player who has scored 161 goals for Dortmund. He is only 16 goals away from breaking the all-time record set by Adi Preissler. Reus has won two German Cups with Dortmund but has never won the league. He joined Dortmund right after they won the title in 2012, leaving his previous team Moenchengadbach.
Dortmund is currently ahead of Bayern Munich by one point with five games remaining this season. Bayern Munich has won the league in all ten seasons that Reus has played with Dortmund.
Reus stated that the team and fans share the same goal of becoming German champions and are all working towards achieving it.
Reus is pleased to have prolonged his contract with Dortmund for one more year as he has always expressed his preference to play for the same club throughout his career. He has repeatedly stated his desire to retire from Dortmund and will be 35 years old when his extended contract ends.
According to sporting director Sebastian Kehl, Marco is extremely valuable to the club, fans, and city, as well as to fans worldwide who support the team beyond the borders of Dortmund.
Reus was born in Dortmund and played for the club’s youth teams before leaving to play for Rot Weiss Ahlen and Borussia Moenchengladbach, where he made his debut in the Bundesliga. He returned to Dortmund in 2012 and was chosen to be the team’s captain for the 2018-19 season.
Reus has played for Germany 48 times and scored 15 goals, but has been injured during important tournaments. He recently missed the Qatar World Cup due to an ankle injury but has had a productive season with eight goals and seven assists in 26 appearances.
According to German newspaper Bild, Reus, who is currently earning the most money at Dortmund, agreed to a pay cut in order to extend his contract with the club. This prevents a potential lack of leadership within the team for the upcoming season.
Mats Hummels’ co-captaincy contract is also ending soon, and Jude Bellingham, the other co-captain, is being courted by many big European teams for a potential move this summer.