LA Galaxy to pay MLS rival in order to sign Marco Reus as part of bizarre rule

Reus is set to move to the US

Reus announced he would be leaving Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season and made his final appearance for his boyhood club in the Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid.

The German supposedly turned down offers from Saudi Arabia and according to Cesar Luis Merlo, Reus will sign a one-year deal with LA Galaxy, with the option to extend by another year.

Even though the 35-year-old will be joining on a free, his new team will still have to pay a fee but to a fellow MLS side.

Bizarre rule sees MLS rival benefit

Thanks to a bizarre rule Charlotte FC - managed by former Aston Villa boss Dean Smith - will pocket $350,000 from the deal.

As revealed by The Athletic, Charlotte FC were given first priority on signing Reus as they secured his discovery rights.

Each team in the MLS is allowed to have up to seven names on their discovery list meaning that any opposition who signs that player must pay a fee to the club that "discovered him".

In this case it was Charlotte, meaning that they receive the fee.

St Louis City were another team from the US interested in signing Reus but former Dortmund teammate  Roman Burki is excited to see him grace US shores.

He told ESPN: "I talked to Marco Reus ahead of the Champions League game, I texted, we didn't talk about the move then because he was obviously focused on the game, but Major League Soccer has a very good chance of seeing him next year or the summer.

"I can't tell which team, I am still trying [to convince him] but at some point it's up to [sporting director] Lutz [Pfannenstiel] and [club owner] Carolyn [Kindle] to make a move."

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