Over the last week, there has been a lot of hype over Borussia Dortmund CEO – Hans-Joachim Watzke “revealing” Marco Reus’ contract terms. Here’s the low-down on what has gone on, and what will be going on with Reus, in the future.
It has been to the knowledge of German football fans for over a year now, that Marco Reus’ contract is the only one in the Borussia Dortmund squad to have a release-clause in it. Dortmund were forced to put this clause into Reus’ contract when he signed in 2012, by his agent.
BVB have had a very widely known issue with the contracts of their players over the last year. Mario Götze joined Bayern München this summer after the Bavarians met the release-clause in his contract, meaning that BVB could not reject the offer, and Götze was costless to join at his will. Since this poorly managed situation, Dortmund have confirmed that they will not be including release-clause’s in their players contracts. This is very important for the situation that Marco Reus is in.
Let’s get down to the facts: Marco Reus’ release-clause of €35million will become active in 2015. Only then can any team meet that clause in the development of trying to sign Reus, this is where it gets simple. Dortmund are expected to offer Reus a new contract as soon as this release-clause becomes active, and he is expected to sign it unless his heart changes in the time between then.
This new contract will then of course not contain a release-clause, therefore giving Dortmund the opportunity to reject or accept any offer they receive for the player at their own will. Marco Reus has very publicly stated his desire to remain with the club for a substantial amount of time, and the club have stated their desire to keep their best players at the club.
Jürgen Klopp recently signed an extension to his contact as manager at BVB, until 2018. His desire to remain at the club has rubbed off on his players it would seem. Robert Lewandowski will of course leave in the summer, expecting to be signed by Bayern on a costless transfer, with his contract coming to an end. Players like Ilkay Gündoğan, Marco Reus and Mats Hummels, have all been linked with moves away from Dortmund recently. These players will be the first to encounter Dortmund’s new contract system.
I am expecting these 3 players, and more of the squad, to commit their futures to BVB in the near future. Basically, what Dortmund are now saying is that if you want their best players – you’re going to have to show them some money. I expect rumors linking Reus to Arsenal and Manchester United to be dead and buried very soon, if not immediately.
I expect Marco Reus to sign a new contract at BVB in 2015, or join Lewandowski and Götze at Bayern. He won’t be leaving Dortmund before then, and I highly doubt any other BVB players will be leaving either.