BORUSSIA DORTMUND legend Marco Reus has announced his shock resignation as captain of the club.
The German international, 34, has skippered the club for five years having been given the armband by former manager Lucien Favre in 2018.
Dortmund won the DFB Pokal and the German Super Cup under Reus’ stewardship.
Having been the club’s talisman pretty much since his arrival in 2011, Reus found himself regularly outside the Dortmund starting XI for much of last season.
And his decision to resign the captaincy reflects his reduced role in the team, often only appearing as an impact sub towards the end of the campaign.
The attacking midfielder announced his resignation in an unusual video on Borussia Dortmund’s Twitter.
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He said: “It’s very important for me to tell you something personally: I had a lot of time to think during my vacation and decided to pass on the captain’s armband.
“I informed Edin Terzic and Sebastian Kehl about this yesterday. I was allowed to wear this armband for five years with pride and honour.
“Thank you for your support over the years and I wish Edin and Sebastian that they find a very good successor – I am sure that they will be successful.”
The news comes as a double-blow for Dortmund, who lost star Jude Bellingham to Real Madrid in a fee that could rise to £115million.
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Reus is not expected to leave the club and is entering his 12th season with Dortmund – scoring 161 goals and providing 121 assists in his 387 appearances for BVB.
He signed a one year contract extension in April which will keep him there until next summer.
Reus was on course to lift Dortmund’s first Bundesliga title since 2012, but after a 2-2 final day draw with Mainz they were pipped to the title by Bayern.
With Reus out of the XI towards the end of the season, Jude Bellingham commonly took the captain’s armband.
Reus’ successor looks likely to be 34-year-old Mats Hummels who previously captained the club before departing for Bayern in 2016.
Hummels re-joined the club in 2019 and has been a regular at the heart of Dortmund’s defence.
Other potential successors include Nico Schulz, Niklas Sule and Marius Wolf.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
