Germany star Marco Reus has recently extended his contract with Borussia Dortmund and has been selected as the next star in our 5 Things feature.
The 25-year-old reportedly snubbed interest from Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid to stay in Germany, but here are five facts which you may or may not have known about the attacking winger.
1) Tattoos: Reus has a massive tattoo "Marco – 31.05.1989" inked over his left arm, and a few more dotted across his body. He has admitted that body art could become an obsession. "I just love tattoos and I have a good tattoo artist. There'll probably be some more in the future. It might even become an obsession."
2) Idol: Reus is a huge admirer of former Dortmund star Tomas Rosicky, and admitted that he tries to replicate the Arsenal midfielder. "My idol was always Tomas Rosicky. He used to be phenomenal. He had such a good eye for an opening and knew where his teammates were, and he was so quick. Rosicky had great technique and was so intelligent and mature even though he was still young at Dortmund. I copied everything about him, right down to his sweatbands."
3) Ritual: The majority of footballers have pre-match rituals and superstitions that they strictly abide by and Reus also has his. He always puts on his right sock, right shin guard and right boot first. And while stepping on the field, he always steps with his left foot first.
4) The lost son: Reus graduated to the Dortmund youth academy in 1996, but at 15 was told his slight physique would hamper his ambitions of making it as a professional. He opted to seek regular football at Rot-Weiss Ahlen, then in the third tier. Breaking into Ahlen's first team when he was still a teenager, he was spotted by Borussia Monchengladbach and bought in the summer of 2009, before Borussia Dortmund re-signed the forward in 2012.
5) Driving without a license. Reus has been handed one of the biggest driving fines in German history after driving for years without a valid driver's license. He had to pay an enormous €540,000 (R7.2 million) fine for six incidents. He was caught driving without a license in March 2014 and it was later revealed that he never owned a valid driver's license, while also receiving five fines for speeding.
Read: 5 Things You Didn't Know About Cristiano Ronaldo
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