Marco Reus, Borussia Dortmund to part ways, another glorious chapter of football loyalty comes to close

Another glorious chapter of football loyalty is set to come to a close at the end of the current campaign. Club legend Marco Reus, 34, will leave Borussia Dortmund at the end of the current season after a decade-long stint. German midfielder Reus and Die Schwarzgelben have mutually decided to part ways and thus will not extend his contract, the club announced on Friday.

"The Dortmund native has worn the black and yellow jersey of his youth club for twelve years since his return in 2012 - loyalty that is rarely seen in today's professional football. The 34-year-old, who played for BVB in his youth, spent a total of more than 21 years with the club he loved. At the end of his impressive career, Reus is now looking for a new adventure," the statement published on the club's website read.

While many of his teammates including Robert Lewandowski, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ilkay Gundogan and Shinji Kagawa decided to move on in the hunt for green pastures, Reus stayed back with his childhood club. Reus came painstakingly close to finally lifting his first Bundesliga title last season but lost the bid to Bayern on the final day of the competition. 

"Marco Reus played in Borussia Dortmund's youth team from 1995 to the beginning of 2005 and returned to BVB from Mönchengladbach in the summer of 2012 as "Germany's Footballer of the Year". Reus was an important part of the team that stormed into the Champions League final in London in 2013 and won the DFB Cup twice - in 2021 he received it as captain. The offensive star was captain of the Black and Yellows for five years, from 2018 to 2023. He will forever remain one of the club's big faces. In 424 games so far he has scored 168 goals and prepared 128 more goals. In 2019 he was voted “Germany’s Footballer of the Year” for the second time," the statement in German added.

Reacting to the development, Reus, who missed Germany's triumphant 2014 World Cup campaign due to an injury, said: “I am incredibly grateful and proud for this special time at my club Borussia Dortmund. I spent more than half of my life in this club and enjoyed every day, although of course there were also difficult moments. I already know that it will be difficult for me to say goodbye at the end of the season. And yet I'm glad that there's clarity now and we can concentrate fully on the important final games that are still outstanding. We have a big goal in mind and we all want to achieve it together. For this, we need each and every one of our incredible fans, whom I would like to expressly thank for their incredible support over the years.”