Black Stars winger Joseph Painstil has described his debut season with LA Galaxy as highly productive.
The former Genk star joined the six-time MLS Cup winners shortly after Ghana’s disappointing performance in the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations.
Painstil brought impressive form to the team, with a total of 32 goal contributions in the 2022-2023 season.
Despite interest from Premier League clubs, the dynamic winger chose to make Dignity Health Sports Park his new home, signing a three-year deal as one of LA Galaxy’s three Designated Players.
This move adds him to a growing list of Ghanaians who have played in the MLS, including Jonathan Mensah, Harrison Afful, David Accam, and Yaw Yeboah.
Painstil made an impactful debut against San Jose Earthquakes, recording two assists and scoring a goal. He concluded the regular season with 10 goals and 7 assists in 30 appearances, adding 4 goals and 1 assist in the playoffs.
Speaking exclusively to 3Sports, he expressed his excitement about his first season. “My season was really great. I had a great season. It was fantastic, especially coming to a league like MLS. It’s a different league but the same football. It was a different style of play, but altogether it was an amazing season for me because I had a great season scoring some couple of goals and giving more assists which resulted in LA Galaxy winning the Western Conference and the MLS Cup.”
LA Galaxy ended a 10-year drought to win their sixth MLS Cup, their first since 2014. Painstil considers it a privilege to have been part of the team that achieved this milestone. He reflected on the victory with pride.
“It feels really great. It is something that every player really wants to have in his books also. We having Messi and Busquets and the other players in the league and winning the league is really important because it’s not that easy. It has been like 10 years since LA Galaxy won the trophy. So we breaking the record was an amazing feeling for us and for me also added to my record for having a trophy with LA Galaxy in my first season within a couple of months in LA.”
Painstil will now look to help Galaxy achieve further success, with hopes of clinching the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup.
