Marco Reus (l.) has left BVB after twelve years for Los Angeles.Image: AP / Kirsty Wigglesworth
On June 1st, a special relationship in football ended. Marco Reus played for BVB one last time in the Champions League final, but after twelve years together, the happy ending was denied to both of them: Borussia Dortmund lost 2-0 to Real Madrid.
After long discussions, the club and the player had not renewed the expiring contract; the long-time captain had no longer played a major sporting role in the last months of his time at BVB.
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Ending his career was not an option, however, and everything pointed to a move to the MLS early on. And that’s exactly what happened: Late Thursday afternoon, LA Galaxy announced the signing of Reus, who signed a contract until December 2026.
The German will be 37 years old by then. It is therefore not a bold statement to describe the US club as the last stop in Reus’ career. Although the MLS has tried to massively change its age structure over the past decade, the transfer seems like a confirmation of its status as a much-quoted “pensioners’ league”.
Professionals react to such a classification, be it Cristiano Ronaldo at al-Nassr or Zlatan Ibrahimović at LA Galaxy, with mostly hypocritical references to a new sporting challenge that they want to face. Reus, on the other hand, surprised with his open words.
Move to the MLS: For Reus, private reasons outweigh
“It was clear to me that I definitely did not want to stay in the Bundesliga. And to be honest, Europe was not an option for me either, as I want to do something completely different at the end of my career,” he explained in an interview with Sky how his search for a new club went.
However, the proposed move is not primarily about a new challenge. For Reus, private aspects are more important:
“It’s something different in terms of the language, something different for the family. Simply having the opportunity to be noticed somewhere else, to continue your education and to see a different horizon. Life here isn’t so bad either. There are so many things you can do and that was a big factor in me saying that you can definitely imagine it.”
The contact with LA Galaxy came about “very, very early” and I liked it straight away. Not just the discussions, but also everything that went with it,” reported Reus.
Clear goal: Reus wants to win MLS title with LA Galaxy
He made the decision to take the step to LA early on. In doing so, he follows in the footsteps of David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Ibrahimović, who also played for LA Galaxy. Reus is proud to be on a par with this trio.
“The three of them have done incredible work – in the past – and now they have shown it again here. That is also my goal. I want to become champions here with the club,” he made a sporting statement.
At least the playoffs should be safe, LA Galaxy currently leads the Western Conference ahead of local rivals LAFC. But the biggest competitor probably plays at the other end of the country: Inter Miami with Lionel Messi. “It’s nice to play against him again in the league”Reus is already looking forward to the duel.
