Marco Reus announces he's stepping down as Borussia Dortmund captain

Borussia Dortmund will have a new captain next season after long-serving stalwart Marco Reus decided to relinquish the armband.

As announced in a video posted on the club’s Twitter account, the 34-year-old has decided against holding onto the role ahead of potentially his final season at Signal Iduna Park.

Reus, who took over the captaincy in 2018 from Marcel Scmelzer, has become one of the most iconic players in Dortmund history after devoting virtually his entire professional career to Die Borussen.

He left Borussia Monchengladbach to join the North Rhine-Westphalia outfit in 2012, months after Jurgen Klopp led the team to their last Bundesliga title.

Despite failing to lift the league crown during his 11-year spell at Dortmund, the former German international remains one of the most influential figures at the club.

The marquee forward has won five major domestic titles with Die Borussen and is the second-highest goalscorer in the club’s history, which is hardly a fun fact, given he’s made 387 appearances for them.

He came agonisingly close to dethroning Bayern Munich last season, only for Edin Terzic’s team to shoot themselves in the foot on the final day.

A heartbreaking 2-2 draw against Mainz in a nail-biting season finale saw Reus and his teammates lend the Bavarians’ effort to maintain their decade-long dominance of German football a decisive helping hand.

Such a gut-wrenching beat is probably one of the reasons behind the forward’s decision to step down as a Dortmund captain, but it’s only part of a larger story.

Reus tumbled down the pecking order towards the tail-end of last season, while his new contract runs out next summer, with no indication of a potential extension beyond 2024 on the horizon.

It’s now up to Terzic to appoint a new captain.

Switzerland international Gregor Kobel is reportedly the front-runner to assume the role after establishing himself as an on-field leader following his arrival from Stuttgart in 2021.

Other potential candidates are Julian Brandt and Emre Can, but the first-choice goalkeeper remains in the driver’s seat.