Special transfer modality
Why does LA Galaxy actually have to pay for Marco Reus?
Marco Reus leaves Borussia Dortmund in tears; the former national player's sporting future lies in the USA. By changing the contractless Reus, Germany is learning a lot about foreign customs.
Marco Reus played for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga for twelve years, during which time the midfielder repeatedly resisted attractive offers from national and international competition. At the Ruhrpott Club with its great history, which is not exactly short on stories and legends, Reus himself rises to the status of an icon over time. There was great dismay when the always spectacular, but often ill-fated offensive artist announced in May of this year: It was coming to an end. The contract, which expires at the end of the season, will no longer be extended. The BVB chapter is closed, a new one has already been opened. And that also brings home to the interested German football fan a curiosity about the US transfer system.
It has now been known for a few days that Reus will continue his career in the USA. The 48-time German international will play for LA Galaxy from now on; as it is said, he had already pushed ahead with the move to the City of Angels around BVB's Champions League final (0-2 against Real Madrid). For Reus there was only the transfer and longing destination LA, the one without a contract was negotiating with another club from the Major League Soccer (MLS) (and that's actually what the Belgian professional Jean-Marc Bosman once fought for for his colleagues of all subsequent generations, free transfer) star not. And yet LA Galaxy has to pay for Reus – to an MLS competitor who actually has nothing to do with the transfer.
Curious payment is due
This is due to a special rule of US soccer operations: Each MLS team is allowed to register “discovery rights” for a maximum of seven players in whom the club is interested. It doesn't matter whether the interest becomes concrete – if another club wants to sign a player that another team has on the list, compensation of at least $50,000 is due. And even though Reus never played for them or was even discussed, FC Charlotte will collect $350,000 from LA Galaxy because of this rule. The rule was created to prevent teams from competing for players and thereby driving up transfer fees and salaries.
When it comes to salary, there are also things to learn that have long been standard in the major professional leagues in the USA: There are clear limits on the salary volume of the teams in order to prevent the gap between smaller and larger clubs from becoming too wide. In order to attract big international stars to the MLS, an exception rule was created in 2007 – the so-called “Beckham Rule”.
Accordingly, each team is allowed to name up to three “designated players” whose salaries do not burden the salary volume – and who can be paid more accordingly. Marco Reus, whose highest-paying contract once guaranteed him more than ten million euros a year in Dortmund, will not benefit from this rule: the three designated player spots were already filled when the German arrived. According to information from various media outlets, he will “only” receive around 1.7 million euros from his team, at least in the first year of his two-year contract.
