Marco Reus (German pronunciation: [ˈmaʁkoː ˈʁɔʏs]; born 31 May 1989) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy.
Reus spent his youth career at Borussia Dortmund, prior to leaving for Rot Weiss Ahlen. He joined Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2009, and had his most successful season at the club in 2012, scoring 18 goals and providing 12 assists in the Bundesliga to help Borussia Mönchengladbach secure a place in the following season's UEFA Champions League.
Reus returned to his hometown club and back-to-back Bundesliga winners Borussia Dortmund after the 2011–12 season. With the club, Reus won the DFB-Pokal in 2017 and 2021, the DFL-Supercup in 2013 and 2019, and reached the Champions League final in 2013 and 2024, coming in both his first and last season as a member of the side. He also finished Bundesliga runner-up seven times during his twelve-year stint, and served as club captain from 2018 until 2023. Reus scored 170 goals with 132 assists for Borussia Dortmund across all competitions, and he is one of only three players (after Andreas Möller and Thomas Müller) to reach the landmark of 100 Bundesliga goals and 100 assists each. He was voted German Footballer of the Year twice, as well as Bundesliga Player of the Season on three occasions. With more than 200 goals scored throughout his career, Reus is considered one of the most prolific midfielders of this century, and one of Borussia Dortmund's best ever players.
After his contract at Dortmund expired at the end of the 2023–24 season, Reus signed for Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy in August 2024 on a deal until the end of 2026, leaving Dortmund after twelve years, as well as Germany for the first time in his career. Four months after signing for the Galaxy, Reus lifted the MLS Cup, his first trophy with the club.
Reus earned 48 caps for the Germany national team. He represented them at two major tournaments (Euro 2012 and the 2018 World Cup), but also missed three FIFA World Cups (2010, 2014, 2022) and two UEFA European Championships (2016, 2020) due to physical reasons.
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Club career
Rot Weiss Ahlen
Reus was born in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. He began to play football for his hometown club Post SV Dortmund in 1994 and joined the youth ranks of Borussia Dortmund in 1996. He played for Borussia Dortmund until he left for the U-19 team of Rot Weiss Ahlen in the summer of 2006. During his first year there, he played as an attacking midfielder and was featured in six games for the club's second team, which played in the Westphalia league at the time. He scored a goal in each of his first two games. The following year, he was able to break into Ahlen's first team, which played in the then German third division, today's fourth tier Regionalliga Nord. He would wear the number 47 that season. Reus featured in 16 games that season, two of which he started. His only goal came on the last matchday, where he played the full 90 minutes for the first time that season, and propelled the team to promotion into the 2. Bundesliga. In 2008–09, as a 19-year-old, he had his definitive breakthrough as a professional football player, playing 27 games and scoring four goals, while playing in the shirt number 18.
Borussia Mönchengladbach
On 25 May 2009, Reus signed a four-year contract with Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach, receiving the shirt number 11. On 28 August, he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a game against Mainz 05 after a 50-metre solo run, and since then became a prolific goalscorer for his club under Lucien Favre.
On 20 August 2010, Reus scored his first Bundesliga brace in an eventual loss against Mainz 05.
At the start of the 2011–12 season, Reus began the season in fine form, scoring 10 goals in his first 13 matches, including his first ever Bundesliga hat-trick in a 5–0 win against Werder Bremen on 19 November. His contract with Gladbach was set to expire in 2015 and reportedly had a buy-out clause of €18 million. Reus mentioned that his role model was Tomáš Rosický, who played for Borussia Dortmund, Reus' city of birth and former club.
Borussia Dortmund
On 4 January 2012, Reus signed with his former club Borussia Dortmund for a €17.1 million transfer fee on a five-year deal. He spoke about his transfer saying, "I've made the decision to take the next step forward in the coming season. I'd like to play for a club who can challenge for the league title and guarantee me Champions League football. I see this chance in Dortmund." Reus officially re-joined Dortmund on 1 July, keeping his shirt number 11 from Gladbach days.
In his league debut with Dortmund on 24 August, he scored a goal as his new side completed a 2–1 win over Werder Bremen. On 29 September, Reus scored two goals for Dortmund in a 5–0 rout of his former club Mönchengladbach, pushing the champions to the top of the Bundesliga table through six games.
On 3 October, in Reus' second ever Champions League appearance, he opened the scoring as Dortmund earned a 1–1 draw away to Manchester City. He then opened the scoring for the German champions in their 2–2 draw with Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on 6 November, netting on a spectacular volley against Iker Casillas, after a kick-down from teammate Robert Lewandowski. In Dortmund's following Champions League match, on 21 November, Reus scored Dortmund's first goal in a 4–1 victory over Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena, securing qualification for the Round of 16 as Group D winners.
On 16 February 2013, Reus scored a hat-trick, netting all the goals in Dortmund's thumping of Hessian side Eintracht Frankfurt. On 9 April 2013, Reus scored an injury time goal which was a vital one in the stunning injury time comeback against Malaga in the quarter-final second leg of the UEFA Champions League. Dortmund won the match by 3–2 and progressed on to the next round where they defeated Real Madrid 4–3 on aggregate to reach the final. On 11 May, Reus scored a late brace against VfL Wolfsburg to help Dortmund draw the match after being two goals down. In the final against Bayern Munich at Wembley Stadium, he managed to earn a penalty for Dortmund after he was fouled by Dante, which İlkay Gündoğan managed to score from the penalty, but Bayern went to win the trophy due to a late goal by Arjen Robben.
On 27 July 2013, in the 2013 DFL-Supercup against Bayern Munich, Reus netted the game's opening goal and later rounded off the scoring, as Borussia Dortmund claimed a 4–2 victory to lift the trophy. On 18 August, Reus converted a penalty kick which rounded off the scoring as Dortmund defeated Eintracht Braunschweig 2–1 at the Signal Iduna Park in the second game of Dortmund's 2013–14 league campaign. He then scored a brace against SC Freiburg, one from the penalty spot, and started the season hitting impressive form. Reus had confirmed he would be Dortmund's penalty taker for the season, though despite winning a penalty against 1860 Munich in the DFB Pokal, he allowed teammate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in taking the penalty which propelled the Borussia-based club into the next round of the competition. On 1 November, Reus scored a goal for Dortmund in a 6–1 league win against VfB Stuttgart.
LA Galaxy
On 15 August 2024, Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy confirmed the signing of Reus on a two-and-a-half-year contract. As desired, he would be given the shirt number 18, an homage to his 2008–09 professional debut season, in which he wore the number for Rot Weiss Ahlen in the 2. Bundesliga.
He made his debut against Atlanta United on 24 August, scoring and assisting to win Player of the Match. On 30 November 2024, Reus was part of the starting line-up that would win 1–0 over Seattle Sounders in the MLS Western Conference final, advancing to the MLS Cup final.
On 7 December 2024, Reus and his squad won the MLS Cup with 2–1 against Eastern Conference champions New York Red Bulls for the first time in ten years, also marking his first ever league title of his professional career. He ended his first season in the United States with 11 matches played, a goal scored and three assists provided.
International career
On 11 August 2009, Reus made his Germany under-21 debut in a friendly match against Turkey. On 6 May 2010, he earned his first call-up to the senior team for a friendly match against Malta on 14 May. Three days before the match, he withdrew from the squad due to a leg injury picked up in the last game of the season against Bayer Leverkusen, which forced him to miss the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Joachim Löw would call him up again immediately after the World Cup in August, but Reus had to pass once more due to illness.
On 7 October 2011, he made his senior team debut against Turkey, receiving the shirt number 21. He scored his first goal for the team on 26 May 2012 in a 5–3 defeat to Switzerland. On 22 June, he scored in a 4–2 victory in the UEFA Euro 2012 quarter-final against Greece, his first start for Germany in a major tournament. In the semi-final, his side was defeated with 2–1 by Italy. Even though there was no match to determine the third place, Reus and his team, as well as Portugal, would be awarded a bronze medal each, for reaching the final four of the competition.
Reus established himself as a regular member of Joachim Löw's side in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, scoring five goals and registering three assists in six matches. He was named in Germany's squad for the World Cup finals, but was ultimately forced to withdraw after suffering an ankle injury in the team's last 6–1 warm-up win against Armenia on 6 June. Shkodran Mustafi would fill his empty spot in the squad and Reus would miss his team winning the trophy for the fourth time in their history. Reus made his international comeback in Germany's first post-World Cup friendly against Argentina on 3 September 2014, whom they had beaten in the final two months prior. From then on, Reus would wear the shirt number 11, previously worn by Miroslav Klose, who retired from the national team after the World Cup.
During qualification for UEFA Euro 2016, Reus made four appearances, scoring once in a 2–0 victory over Georgia in Tbilisi, but was not selected for the tournament after suffering a groin injury.
On 2 June 2018, Reus made his return to international duty after two years in a friendly match against Austria, which ended in a 2–1 loss for Germany. Reus was included in Joachim Löw's 23-man final squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup on 4 June. On 17 June, Reus made his World Cup debut during their opening match against Mexico as a substitute by replacing Sami Khedira in the 60th minute, but the match ended in a 1–0 loss for Germany. On 23 June, Reus started and scored an equalizing goal and his first World Cup goal in the second half as Germany defeated Sweden with 2–1 in their second group stage match to resurrect their World Cup hopes. He also provided an assist to Toni Kroos' late winning goal in that match and was named Man of the Match. However, his side were knocked out of the tournament after losing 2–0 to South Korea in their last group stage match on 27 June.
Style of play
Reus is renowned for his versatility, speed, agility, technical skills, intelligence, and shooting ability; however he is also known for his proneness to injury. In 2012, Franz Beckenbauer spoke about Reus, along with Mario Götze, saying, "...as a classic duo there is nobody better than the prolific Reus and Götze." Reus was voted the Footballer of the Year (Germany) in 2012 and was named in the UEFA Team of the Year in 2013. In 2013, he was ranked as the fourth best footballer in Europe by Bloomberg. Although he is highly regarded for his attacking movement, powerful finishing with either foot in open play, timing, and eye for goal, as well as his accuracy from set pieces, Reus is also a hard-working player and a precise passer, who possesses good vision, which enables him to create chances and provide assists to teammates, in addition to scoring goals himself. As such, Reus is a versatile forward, who is capable of playing in several offensive positions, and has been deployed as a second striker, in a central role as an out-and-out striker (although this is not his favoured position), as a winger on either flank (although he favours the left side, as it allows him to cut inside onto his stronger right foot), and also in a central attacking midfield role as a number 10. Beyond his qualities as a player, Reus is also known for his leadership, having served as captain of Borussia Dortmund.
Personal life
Reus is named after the Netherlands legend, Marco van Basten. According to Reus, his parents were originally going to name him 'Dennis' but thanks to Van Basten's famous volley goal against Soviet Union in the final of Euro 1988 they decided to name him Marco.
Reus started dating German model Scarlett Gartmann in December 2015. Together they had their first daughter in March 2019 and got married later the same year. They welcomed their second child in January 2024.
Reus has said that, if he was not a professional football player, he would be a pilot.
Reus was the cover athlete of FIFA 17, after being voted in by a fans' poll organized by Electronic Arts.
In March 2020, Reus and his wife, Scarlett, donated €500,000 to people and smaller businesses in need in his hometown of Dortmund during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Legal issues
In December 2014, Reus was fined €540,000 for driving without a valid licence. The fine was based on his then monthly salary of €180,000. He had been driving for years with a fake Dutch licence, a felony in its own right, and had been issued speeding tickets on at least five occasions since 2011 without authorities knowing that he was not legally licensed. The felony charges for using a counterfeit licence were later dropped, causing some controversy and raising questions from politicians whether his celebrity status had been a reason for a milder sentence. When convicted, Reus said, "The reasons I did it are something I cannot really understand." Prior to his conviction, he had appeared in commercials for cars and petrol. In August 2016, Reus stated that he now had a valid driver's licence.
Career statistics
Club
As of match played 29 August 2026
International
As of match played 11 November 2021
As of match played 11 November 2021
Germany score listed first, score column indicates score after each Reus goal
Honours
Rot Weiss Ahlen
Regionalliga Nord: 2007–08
Borussia Dortmund
DFB-Pokal: 2016–17, 2020–21; runner-up: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16
DFL-Supercup: 2013, 2014, 2019
UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2012–13, 2023–24
LA Galaxy
MLS Cup: 2024
Western Conference (MLS): 2024
Individual
VDV Bundesliga Player of the Season: 2011–12, 2013–14, 2018–19
Bundesliga Breakthrough of the Season: 2011–12
Bundesliga top assist provider: 2013–14
Bundesliga Player of the Month: September 2018, November 2018, December 2018
Bundesliga Goal of the Month: November 2018, February 2023, May 2024
Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2018–19
kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2011–12, 2013–14, 2018–19
Footballer of the Year in Germany: 2012, 2019
Germany National Player of the Year: 2018
UEFA Team of the Year: 2013