Borussia Dortmund take on Real Madrid at London’s Wembley Stadium this evening, hoping to win the Champions League for the first time since 1997. It will also be Marco Reus’ final game for his boyhood club.
Reus grew up as a supporter of Dortmund and played for its academy from seven until he was released at 17 because of doubts over his physicality. But after making his name at Borussia Monchengladbach, Reus rejoined Dortmund in 2012 as one of Europe’s hottest young talents. Twelve years later, the German is an enormously popular figure in Dortmund and a club legend.
Now, he could be on his way to MLS.
Reus bids farewell to Dortmund fans after his side’s final home game of the season (Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
The 35-year-old is attracting interest throughout the league, with Charlotte FC one of the clubs in the hunt to land his signature. While no deal is imminent, Charlotte are pushing hard to bring the German winger to the Bank of America Stadium. Their pursuit has been ongoing for months and Charlotte has his discovery rights — which means they have top priority to sign him — although LA Galaxy are also keen.
And if an MLS club manages to secure his signature, they won’t just be getting one of Europe’s best wide attackers of the past decade but one of German football’s most respected characters.
When Reus rejoined Dortmund in 2012, they were at the pinnacle of German football. Jurgen Klopp led a team full of stars, such as Robert Lewandowski, Mats Hummels and Mario Gotze. Dortmund had collected their second consecutive Bundesliga title and were becoming a powerful fixture in the Champions League.
Reus got a taste of potential glory in his first season, losing the Champions League final to Bayern Munich at Wembley in 2013, but he’d never reach those heights at club level again.
Internationally, Reus’s story might be even more heartbreaking.
In 2014, Germany won their fourth World Cup, in Brazil, while Reus was at home recovering from an ankle injury suffered days before Germany were scheduled to fly out to the tournament. Despite being one of the most gifted players of his generation, Reus has won only 48 international caps, missing the 2014 World Cup, Euro 2016, Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup through injury.
Reus has suffered numerous injuries during his career (Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
While at club level, the trio of Gotze, Lewandowski, and Hummels — the world-class team-mates Reus joined Dortmund to play with — eventually made their way south to title-rivals Bayern Munich, where they’d become serial winners.
While they have pushed Bayern close on a few occasions, including last season, when Dortmund could have landed their first Bundesliga title since 2012 with a win on the final day, two domestic cups and three super cups are all Reus has to show for his time at the Westfalenstadion. Still, that has only strengthened his bond with Dortmund’s famous “Yellow Wall”.
Reus has been the subject of Bayern’s attention on several occasions. They first tried to sign him before he joined Dortmund, but the pull of the city of his birth and boyhood club carried him home. Attention has come from abroad too, with Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid attempting to secure his services, but he remained determined to help Germany’s second-biggest club reach the top again.
Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool, among other top European clubs, were also interested in signing him at various points. “But, in the end,” Reus said, “I always chose my club.” Why? “I belong here.”
Despite his talent, a lack of trophies and untimely injuries have earned Reus the unenviable tag of “Europe’s unluckiest footballer”. But a win for Dortmund against Real Madrid would feel like vindication.
Dortmund’s ‘Yellow Wall’ thanking Reus for his service last month (Sebastian El-Saqqa – firo sportphoto/Getty Images)
Reus, a three-time Bundesliga player of the season, has played a reduced role for Dortmund since suffering an ankle injury ahead of the 2022 World Cup, registering only six goals and eight assists in 26 league appearances this campaign. Still, he remains among the club’s most influential and senior figures. Being able to lift the Champions League to close the chapter on a legendary 12-year period in Dortmund would be nothing short of what his loyalty deserves.
His time in the transition-heavy Bundesliga is probably over, but he has many of the qualities MLS clubs look for in final third creators. His consistent production in front of goal for Dortmund, even as his body has declined, suggests he still has more to give than many previous German exports to the United States.
Under Dean Smith, Charlotte have had a solid start to the season and sit seventh in the Eastern Conference in the final confirmed play-off spot. Just fifteen goals in 16 matches so far highlight their weakness in front of goal, however — and Reus’s quality would undoubtedly help Charlotte improve from that perspective.
Out west, the Galaxy have welcomed stars of his calibre before, and he would seamlessly fit in with the wealth of attacking quality Greg Vanney has at his disposal.
Reus brings experience, skill, and a profile that will elevate the club’s status internationally. Depending on the events at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, he might even have a Champions League-winning medal with him, too.
(Header photo: Sebastian El-Saqqa – firo sportphoto/Getty Images)
