German football player Marco Reus announced about leaving Borussia Dortmund after 12 years at the club. Royce will become a free agent at the end of the current season. Clubs from Turkey and the USA are interested in the services of the 34-year-old football player.
“I am immensely proud of the special time I spent at Borussia. I played at this club for more than half my life and enjoyed every day, although there were difficult moments. I know that parting at the end of the season will be very difficult,” Royce commented on his departure in an interview with club television.
Permanent captain
The Dortmund native joined Borussia’s academy at the age of seven. Having played for about 10 years for youth teams, he never received an offer from the club for a professional contract: the coaches of the Borussia system did not see in the young German a player capable of breaking into the first team.
The 2011/12 season was a landmark season for Reus with Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he moved in 2009. The midfielder scored 21 goals in all competitions, the club took fourth place in the German championship at the end of the season and qualified for the Champions League. Reus’s brilliant play attracted the attention of the giants of European football: Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Juventus. Borussia also wanted to return the student. Reus accepted the offer from his home team without hesitation; Borussia paid about 17 million euros for the midfielder (according to data Transfer market).
Since 2012, Reus has played for Borussia in 424 matches in all competitions, in which he scored 168 goals and 128 assists. Together with the club, Reus won the German Cup twice, won the national Super Cup three times and was a finalist in the Champions League in the 2012/13 season (in 2024, Marco can repeat this achievement if his club passes the French PSG in the semi-finals). Since 2018, Reus has been the permanent captain of Borussia.
“Marco Reus is one of the greatest players of this club. His connection with Borussia Dortmund is special. – the club’s general director, Hans-Joachim Watzke, noted the footballer’s merits. “We wish Marco all the best for the future from the bottom of our hearts.” We really hope that he will return to Borussia after his professional career ends, because there is still a lot of interesting things waiting for him in Dortmund.”
The German’s main challenge throughout his career has been injuries. According to the Opta statistical service, Royce missed a total of 1,313 days due to injuries (there were 68 in total). In terms of the total number of injuries, only ex-Bayern Munich player Franck Ribery (72) is ahead of Reus.
The damage had the greatest impact on the German’s career in the national team – Reus missed five international tournaments. Among them are the 2014 World Cup (ankle injury in a friendly match the day before the team’s departure to Brazil), Euro 2016 (injury in the final of the lost German Cup), 2017 Confederations Cup (ruptured cruciate ligaments in the final of the German Cup) and the World Cup – 2022 (ankle injury).
Injuries cost Reus the world title in 2014. In the qualifying tournament for the world championship, Marco was one of the leaders of the German team: in six matches he scored five goals and made four assists. After the victory over the Argentina national team at the Brazilian Maracanã stadium, the author of the decisive goal, Mario Götze, came out to the awards ceremony with Reus’ T-shirt in his hands.
“Top players earn a lot of money, but we pay with our health. I would give any money to be able to do my job consistently again. Doing what I love most – playing football,” said Royce in 2017
Computer games and fashion
Royce proved his love for his native club and city not only on the field, but also off it. Specifically, in March 2020, Marco and his wife Scarlett took the initiative to help local businesses that could not function as usual due to the coronavirus pandemic. The couple made a donation of 500,000 euros. Manchester City forward Erling Haaland, who then played for the Dortmund club, also joined the initiative. For many years, Royce has also supported the local organization Elterntreff, which has been helping children with cancer since 1982.
In 2015, Royce founded his personal brand MRXI, selling a collection of casual clothing with the image of three monkey figures covering their eyes, ears and mouth with their paws: this is what the football player used as a celebration after scoring goals. The collection included caps, T-shirts and shoes, and part of the profits from the project went to Elterntreff.
As for sponsorship deals, since 2009, Royce has been an ambassador for the German sportswear brand Puma. The company supported the player throughout his career at Borussia. The last extension of the agreement between the football player and Puma took place in 2019. At the same time, Puma agreed to extend the contract with Borussia, he is assessed 250 million euros and will be valid until the end of 2028.
In 2019, the midfielder became the face of the gaming and e-sports equipment company HyperX. As part of the deal, Royce uses HyperX gaming headsets, keyboards, mice and pads while gaming, streaming and traveling. Marco is known as a big fan of computer games; in 2017 he even appeared on the cover of the FIFA football simulator from the Canadian company EA Sports.
“Gaming has become an important part of our daily lives, from games on a mobile phone to FIFA simulators on a console. I like to spend time playing virtual football after training, it’s a sure way to distract myself. I’m excited to join HyperX.” commented Royce agreement.
In 2024, Marco Reus took part in the show of the new collection of the Italian brand CP Company, popular among fans. Previously, the company’s shows included Destiny Udoji (Tottenham Hotspur), Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal), Davide Fratezzi (Inter) and Nicolo Rovella (Lazio).
