Bayern Munich have confirmed that they will not be in the running for the services of Borussia Dortmund midfielder Marco Reus, according to the publication BILD.
The German international has been the reported transfer target of numerous European club including: Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool; but the BVB player has been heavily linked with a move to the reigning Club World Cup and European champions Real Madrid.
Bayern Munich ruling itself out of the running for the 25-year-old’s signature is likely due to the fact that the Bundesliga champions know Reus has already decided to join another club, so they’ve decided to leak information to the media in order to save face.
The German champions are also rumored to have a pre-contract agreement with Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira, who will not have his contract renewed at the Spanish club.
Reus had been linked with a switch to the German champions because it was assumed the midfielder would follow in the footsteps of former Borussia Dortmund teammates Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski, who left BVB for Bayern Munich.
But relations between the German clubs broke down following comments made by Bayern Munich officials regarding Reus. Shortly thereafter rumors broke that Real Madrid had reached a pre-contract agreement with the BVB star player.
In August, Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer agitated Dortmund officials when he commented on the possibility of signing the player.
“If you can get a player of his class [Reus], you need to try it,” Beckenbauer said. “If he doesn’t go to Bayern in 2015, he will probably go to another big club like Real Madrid or Manchester United. Dortmund will probably not be able to hold on to him.”
Then, the club’s CEO Karl Heinz Rummenigge revealed the player’s buyout clause [£20 million] to the media which sent officials at Borussia Dortmund over the edge. That was the moment when BVB said they would no longer deal with their German rivals.
According to various reports in Spain and Germany there is an agreement in place between Real Madrid and Marco Reus, all that’s left is for Borussia Dortmund officials to sign off on the deal.
When news was leaked of this pre-contract agreement in September, all parties involved denied there was any deal in place. But following today’s news reported by BILD, it is looking more and more like the German international is on his way to the Spanish capital.
Real Madrid have recently signed Lucas Silva from Cruzeiro and Norwegian wonderkid Martin Odegaard from Stromsgodset, but the La Liga club have already decided they will not be renewing the contract of Sami Khedira and it is expected that Asier Illarramendi will leave in the summer. The arrival of Reus would provide manager Carlo Ancelotti with yet another world class talent to slot into his midfield.
