Former Dortmund captain Marco Reus joins LA Galaxy in MLS

Former Borussia Dortmund captain and three-time Bundesliga Player of the Season Marco Reus has joined Los Angeles Galaxy of the Major League Soccer, the American club announced on Thursday.

"I feel very, very good, healthy ... but I don't want to continue in Europe because of my past in Dortmund," Reus told ESPN. "America, and especially the Galaxy, was my first choice."

"First of all, I want to prove myself, still. I'm 35 years old, but I think I have a lot of energy in my tank," he added. "And of course, we want to bring the championship home ... I'm here to bring the championship home and together, of course, together with my teammates."

Reus finished his Dortmund career that began from 2012 after the 2023-24 season. He has scored 170 goals and delivered 131 assists in 429 games for the club, helping them win two DFB-Pokal titles and two DFL-Supercups. Dortmund also made the UEFA Champions League final twice, but lost to Bayern Munich in 2013 and Real Madrid in 2024.

Reus also scored 15 goals for Germany in 48 games.

"My conversation with Marco was like, look, essentially you can come here and wake a sleeping giant in a new MLS," Galaxy general manager Will Kuntz told ESPN. "We've kind of entered a new age since the Galaxy were last champions, but I do believe that this is the biggest club and to win here means more."

Galaxy missed the playoffs in the 2023 season after finishing in the 13th place in the Western Conference with only eight wins. They bounced back well in the on-going 2024 campaign and top the West with 14 wins, seven draws and five losses after 26 games.

"It's a different type of challenge, right?" Kuntz said. "You know, traveling a continent that masquerades as a country, playing in the heat, playing on artificial surfaces, playing in the playoffs, and all these unique challenges that he's kind of never encountered before ... overcome some new obstacles and test yourself in different ways."