Marco Reus has put a damper on the 2015 transfer window months before it opens.
Reus signed a new, long-term contract with Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, the German club announced. Reus’ new contract expires in 2019 and, crucially, removes a release clause that would have allowed interested clubs to buy him for a sub-market price.
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Reus, 25, has been linked with moves to a host of top teams in the last 12 months, but the German international appears ready to commit his best years to the club he supported as a boy and currently represents.
“Dortmund is my home town and Borussia is my club,” Reus said in a statement. “I am looking forward to a successful future with our team and our fantastic fans behind us. There is a lot of work to be done and I want to pitch in and play my part.”
Reus has scored 70 goals in 169 Bundesliga games for Dortmund. He also has played 23 games for Germany’s national team, scoring seven times.
Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke was delighted to sign Reus to fresh terms. Reus is perhaps Dortmund’s prized asset, and the 2013 UEFA Champions League finalist will depend on the skillful winger as it looks to end its turbulent period and climb the Bundesliga (German first division) standings.
“We refused to believe all the transfer rumours and always felt there was a good chance that this extraordinary player would commit his future to BVB,” Watzke said. “Marco can define an era in Dortmund as Uwe Seeler did in Hamburg or Steven Gerrard in Liverpool. The fact that Marco made this decision in the midst of a sporting crisis at BVB shows how much he identifies with the club and that makes us very proud.”
Reus’ original contract with Dortmund expires in 2017 and reportedly contained a €20 million (£14.8 million/$22.6 million) release clause. Reus now will command at least double that amount in the transfer market, should he and Dortmund decide to part ways in the next two years.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@BVB
