Charlotte FC is in talks to sign Borussia Dortmund attacker Marco Reus, sources briefed on the talks told The Athletic.
Those sources said no deal is imminent, but Charlotte continues pushing hard to bring the German to MLS. Their pursuit of Reus has been ongoing for months and Charlotte has Reus’ discovery rights, which means they have top priority to sign him.
The Athletic previously reported St. Louis had preliminary talks with Reus. Charlotte is much further along in the process. If Reus were to sign elsewhere in MLS, the club would have to acquire his discovery rights from Charlotte, which is unlikely to be cheap given Charlotte’s interest in the player.
Reus, who turns 35 at the end of May, will depart Dortmund this summer when his contract expires, ending a 12-year stint at the club. He scored a storybook-ending free kick in his final home match to close the Bundesliga season, his 170th goal for the club. He also has 131 assists. He has one more match with Dortmund: The 2024 Champions League final against Real Madrid.
Charlotte has had a strong start to the MLS season under coach Dean Smith and will reload significantly this summer, with multiple open designated player slots and other high-leverage roster mechanisms to improve the team. This spring, the club added Israel international Liel Abada from Celtic on a club-record deal. More will follow this summer, with Charlotte hoping to make Reus one of them.
Charlotte sits sixth in the Eastern Conference with 21 points after 14 matches. Their 13 goals against are tied for the second-fewest in the league.
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