Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus has promised to never join the club’s arch rivals Bayern Munich.
The Germany winger, 29, has been heavily linked with a move to the Allianz Arena in the past – and has seen several team-mates make the switch.
Dortmund have lost Mario Gotze, Robert Lewandowski and Mats Hummels to the Bavarians in big-money transfers over the years.
But Reus, whose side lead second-placed Bayern by six points, has vowed not to repeat that act, telling Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: “You won’t see me playing at Bayern, I promise.
“Also I’m nearly 30 years old and they want to rejuvenate their squad.”
Bayern have won six consecutive Bundesliga titles, while Dortmund have struggled to compete.
And Reus knows Dortmund, who have lost just one league game this season, are in a great position to end their seven-year wait for a top-flight title.
He added: “It’s in our hands, we have to take each game like the first of the season and then we’ll have a chance.”
Reus joined Dortmund for £15million from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2012 and has proved to be a superb acquisition for the Bundesliga leaders.