Borussia Dortmund and Germany winger Marco Reus has been fined more than half a million euros for driving without a licence for years.

The 25-year-old international, who has been advertising the club's car sponsor and has also been in ads for a petrol company, received speeding tickets on at least five occasions since 2011 before authorities realised he had been driving without a licence ever since.

"I decided back then to take that road but the reasons I did it are something I cannot really understand today," Reus, a transfer target for many top European clubs, was quoted as telling Bild newspaper on Wednesday.

Dortmund's prosecutor's office said the fine was 540,000 euros ($664,848) related to incidents from 2011 until this March.

"Today I know that I was too naive and that it was stupid. I have learned my lesson and this will not happen again," Reus said.

The club said they had discussed the matter with the player who said he had made a "stupid" mistake.

"He has promised such a thing will not happen again," club spokesman Sascha Fligge told reporters. "We see no reason to doubt his words because we hold Marco both as a player and as a person in high regard."

Reus, who missed Germany's World Cup triumph in July after picking up an injury in the final warmup game, is currently out with another ankle injury.

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