Marco Reus signed a new one-year deal with Borussia Dortmund on Thursday as the captain set his sights on Bundesliga glory.
The Dortmund defender, 33, wants to start next season with a title to defend by agreeing to stay until the end of the 2023-24 campaign.
This will be his 12th season as a Dortmund first team player and possibly his last.
The Dortmund native Reus worked his way through the club’s ranks before spending six seasons away from Rot Weiss Ahlen and Borussia Mönchengladbach, but since his return to BVB in 2012 he has become a key figure.
As Dortmund noted when announcing their extension, Reus is 16 short of Adi Preisler’s record of 177 goals for the club, which could be a target.
Reus sent a message to the fans, saying: “As a team, we, like all our fans, have a big goal right now that we are fully focused on: we want to become German champions; for this we need each boruss.
“But beyond that, I still really want to do my best for the club where I have spent more than half of my life. For me, there is still nothing better than scoring goals in front of the best fans in the world in the most beautiful stadium in the world and celebrating victories together.
“That’s why I’m glad I extended my contract for another year because I’ve always said that there is no other club in my career that I would rather play for BVB.”
For our club
For our city
He will stay! pic.twitter.com/uYfWDah6nx— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) April 27, 2023
Dortmund lead the Bundesliga with a one-point lead over Bayern Munich with five games remaining.
Reus has had occasional bad luck with injuries, especially when he missed Germany’s triumphant 2014 World Cup campaign with an ankle injury just days before the tournament kicked off.
Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke described Reus as “extremely ambitious to lead our BVB to its greatest goals”, while sporting director Sebastian Kehl was delighted to complete the deal.
Kehl said: “As a player and role model, Marco is extremely important to this club – among our fans in the South Stand and in this city, as well as outside Dortmund and for BVB fans around the world.
“As a longtime BVB player and a Dortmund native, he will not only continue to play an active role in achieving success on the pitch, but will also use all his experience to develop the younger generation in our team.”