Ghanaian forward Joseph Paintsil has been honoured with Los Angeles Galaxy’s Golden Boot award after finishing as the club’s top scorer for the 2025 Major League Soccer (MLS) season.

The 27-year-old Black Stars winger netted 10 goals in 22 appearances, emerging as a bright spot in what proved to be a challenging campaign for the MLS champions.

Paintsil’s standout performances included a record-making moment when he became only the third player in LA Galaxy history to score a first-half hat-trick, joining Robbie Keane and Alejandro Moreno on the exclusive list. The milestone came in the emphatic win against Sporting Kansas City.

Despite his impressive numbers, Paintsil missed out on the Player of the Year honour, which went to Diego Fagundez.

Speaking after receiving the award at the club’s end-of-season gala, Paintsil expressed pride in his achievement but admitted disappointment over the team’s failure to qualify for the playoffs.

“This season was a big lesson for us and a wake-up call as a team,” he said.
“It hasn’t gone the way we wanted. We gave away a lot of points and made too many mistakes, and we got punished for them. It’s really sad that a team which won the championship last season couldn’t make the playoffs.”

Despite the setback, the former Genk and Tema Youth attacker remained positive, emphasizing gratitude and faith.

“We should have at least made it to the playoffs to test ourselves and see how far we could go. But in all things, we give thanks to God , He knows best.”