Gio Reyna: Who is Borussia Mönchengladbach’s American Dream?
Football runs in the blood for Borussia Mönchengladbach’s 'American Dream' Gio Reyna, who is looking to fulfil his outstanding potential after crossing the Borussias divide from Dortmund.
Stats correct as of 17 December 2025
Age: 23 (13 November 2002)
Club: Borussia Mönchengladbach
Position: Attacking midfielder
Country: USA (34 caps/ nine goals)
Key stats
Born in November 2002, Gio is the son of former US internationals Claudio Reyna and Danielle Egan Reyna. A supremely gifted sportsman from an early age, Gio followed his dad to New York City FC, joining the club's youth academy. After a strong 2017/18 campaign with the NYCFC U18/19s – in which he scored 13 goals in 17 appearances – Reyna arrived in Dortmund at the start of 2019.
Like former teammate Christian Pulisic, he was able to join the Black and Yellows at the age of just 16, having secured a Portuguese passport through Claudio's mother Maria. After playing for the club's U19s team in 2019/20, he was promoted to the senior side during the winter break and made his Bundesliga debut on Matchday 18, aged 17.
Watch: Gio Reyna - like father, and mother, like son
Reyna opened his Dortmund account a few weeks later, scoring in BVB's 3-2 DFB Cup defeat to Werder Bremen in February 2020, at the time making history as the competition's youngest goalscorer. After producing his first Bundesliga assist on the penultimate day of 2019/20, Reyna scored and assisted on the opening weekend of his first full top-flight campaign. He was already a first-team regular at the time of his USMNT debut in November 2020, and scored on his second senior international.
The 6'0" playmaker won his first senior trophies with Dortmund's 2021 DFB Cup triumph and the USA's 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup success. At the age of 18 years, nine months and 14 days in August 2021, Reyna became the youngest player to reach 50 appearances in the Bundesliga, which has since been surpassed by former Dortmund forward Youssoufa Moukoko. Breaking a record previously held by Kai Havertz, US Soccer's Young Male Player of the Year for 2020 marked the occasion with his sixth league goal.
Watch: Reyna's Bundesliga goals and assists for Dortmund
Reyna’s rise to stardom was curtailed by several injuries, meaning it took him over three years to make another 50 Bundesliga outings, eventually surpassing the 100-game milestone on Matchday 20 of the 2024/25 season in Dortmund's 2-1 win at Heidenheim.
Finishing 2024/25 with two goals in 16 league appearances, Reyna crossed the Borussias divide, joining Gladbach last summer. Featuring in 10 of his new club’s first 14 matchdays in 2025/26, the Foals’ new No.13 joins the Borussia-Park outfit hoping to find his best with a home FIFA World Cup on the horizon in 2026.
Watch: Reyna joins Gladbach
Plays a bit like: Julian Draxler
Patrick Vieira, who coached Reyna during his two-year spell with NYCFC, has previously likened the American to his former France teammate David Trezeguet. However, he is more reminiscent of former Schalke man Draxler due to his gliding ball control, penchant for creating over goalscoring and his breakthrough in the Ruhr at a young age.
Although Draxler shone with the Royal Blues, he struggled for consistency at times and perhaps hasn't fulfilled his potential despite carving out a very successful career. As Reyna looks to go through the gears, there is perhaps something he can learn from the Germany international's journey.
Watch: Reyna on his ambitions at Gladbach
Did you know?
The Reyna family suffered tragedy in July 2012, when Gio's older brother Jack died of brain cancer at the age of just 13. Gio was nine years old. Claudio recalls taking Jack to see Gio try out for a basketball team a few months beforehand, in particular the moment when his eldest son turned to him with a smile and said, "Dad, Gio is the best player here by far."
"He wasn't jealous about anything," Claudio told Sports Illustrated. "He absolutely thought Gio was incredible."
What they're saying
“Gio is an experienced but also still young player with great potential. He knows the Bundesliga, is versatile and capable of playing anywhere in attack.” - Roland Virkus, former Gladbach managing director
“I have rarely seen a training session from him that I wasn't satisfied with, and I have recently seen values I hadn't seen before.” - Eugen Polanski, Gladbach head coach
"I called him 'the American dream' before. What he's doing on the pitch is amazing. He has a huge future in front of him." - Erling Haaland, former Dortmund teammate
Watch: Erling Haaland - 'He's the American Dream'
"He could be arguably the best young American talent out there today." - Jovan Kirovski, Dortmund's first American player
"He's much more of an athlete than I was, much more of a goal scorer. He's very technical and has a good feel for the game. He has a great free kick and can strike a ball well. Danielle was a great runner – and he's a runner." – Claudio Reyna, Gio's father
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