Marco Reus is staying. The Dortmund-born star has extended his contract at BVB by an additional year until the summer of 2024. After putting pen to paper, Reus sat down to discuss what motivated and helped him reach a decision in signing the new deal, not to mention what the club and the city mean to him personally. 

Marco Reus on the significance of signing a renewed contract extension at BVB: 
''Since my childhood I've been saying how important this club is for me. I've always been very proud to have been part of the club and the team for so long and aim for success together. That's why I'm so happy to be able to extend my time here by another year. It has always been my wish to end my career here. This wish has never changed, so I'm very proud and happy now.''

…on the important role family played in the decision-making process:
''When my daughter goes to kindergarten in the morning, she always says 'Heja BVB!' That leaves a mark on you and you don't want it to end. Of course, I also talked about it a lot with my wife too. Everyone in the family is happy that the extension is now complete and we can concentrate on the challenges ahead.''

…on persistence and loyalty in football: 
''I've always said that everyone is responsible for their own career. Time flies and you only have so much of it. We've had a lot of players here who we could have built a fantastic team with, but they unfortunately made different choices and pursued other career paths. That should be respected. For a player like me, who always wants to compete for titles, it obviously stings to see the best players leave the club because they regrettably don't see that they would be able to make the next big step here. But I never had the sense that I should go down this route just because others did. I was always ready to build up something new again and thereby send a message to people: 'I'm staying here no matter what!'''

…on the importance of the BVB fans: 
''What our fans do every matchday is insane. Before the Frankfurt match, we were watching the Bayern game in the bus. Karim was sat next to me and I said to him: 'You won't be able to imagine what the atmosphere will be like in the stadium, because people will sense how unbelievably important it is to get behind the team even more than usual today.' During the warm-up I stood in front of the south stand for a good five minutes and just looked up, as they performed an unbelievable pyrotechnic display. It's the same thing at away games too, that's why I'm hoping that 20,000 or 25,000 will come to Bochum or Augsburg to turn those games into home ones for us. It supplies us with so much strength and gives us the feeling that we are unbeatable in these games.'' 

…on what Borussia Dortmund means to him: 
''Home. Belonging. Simply just life. It's hard to explain for people who aren't so immersed in it. It means so much when you've spent your entire life here and have had the chance to play for the club – right until the end. At some point you have to make a decision: do you want to try something new at some point or do you want it to end here? I always have the feeling that I'm at home. Even if there are phases when things don't go so well. I know it's always wonderful here, the people embrace me with open arms, and I've never wanted to be away from that. That's why the decision was always going to be in favour of BVB.''

…on what nine-year-old Marco Reus would think if he knew that he'd one day play at the club for so long: 
"He would think he had done everything right. There was no reason to do things differently or not to be loyal to the club. It was worth making all the sacrifices. Pulling through, sticking at it, never giving up and always staying positive. Nothing could ever compare to crowning it all with the league title."

BVB-TV by 1&1: watch the full interview with Marco Reus