Why Marco Reus Seems Destined to Leave Dortmund for Madrid or Bayern

Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are going head to head for Marco Reus.

According to a Monday report in Marca, Madrid have dispatched a representative to Germany for the purposes of wooing the Borussia Dortmund attacker and monitoring Bayern's acknowledged interest in signing him.

Reus is only out of contract in 2017, but with he and BVB president Reinhard Rauball having agreed a €25 million release clause, the suitors have unsurprisingly lined up at Dortmund's door.

The 25-year-old has already been linked to Premier League sides Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, according to The Telegraph, but Real Madrid and Bayern Munich would seem to be the front-runners in the race for his signature.

Madrid, while being able to offer a chance at quick and prestigious silverware, could also present a wage package in line with Reus' demands, which Bild has pegged at €12 million per year, as relayed by GiveMeSport.com.

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

It's a salary that would make him Bayern's joint-highest earner alongside Franck Ribery, and if the club's willingness to sell Toni Kroos (to Madrid, incidentally) revealed anything, it's that they're loath to upset a carefully-arranged payment structure.

Ribery, however, will turn 32 in April and battled injuries through much of last season as well as the first half of the current campaign. If Bayern are contemplating replacing the Frenchman, it follows that Reus, who could immediately slot in on the left-hand side of the attack, is on their radar.

And Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has admitted as much.

"We know that he has a lot of quality, and we know his clause," the Bayern CEO told Bild in October, as per Goal. "For us a young German national player of such quality is interesting."

He added: "But I do not want to make unrest in Dortmund."

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Borussia Dortmund's general manager Hans-Joachim Watzke is optimistic Marco Reus will be at the club next season pic.twitter.com/toNAZtByjD

— InsideWorldFootball (@insidewldftball) December 11, 2014"

Not that he needs to. They have enough of that to go around already.

Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Hertha Berlin left the eight-time champions in the Bundesliga's relegation play-off spot and just a single point off the foot of the table.

They've won only four matches all season and have scored a paltry 15 goals in 15 rounds, and if they fail to qualify for next season's Champions League (they're currently 10 points back), it's likely Reus won't be the only player leaving the Westfalenstadion.

Defender Mats Hummels, who was a key contributor in Germany's 2014 World Cup triumph, has long attracted interest throughout Europe, and each of Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United has been connected to him in the past, according to the Express.

Reus, however, could well have the luxury of choosing between two of the continent's most fashionable clubs.

If he fancies an immediate payday, he'll pick Real Madrid. If he's willing to budge on his wages in exchange for consistent playing time, he'll select Bayern Munich.

It's the sort of problem most footballers can only dream about having.