Who is Joseph Paintsil, Los Angeles Galaxy’s new designated player?

Los Angeles Galaxy have confirmed the purchase of Genk winger Joseph Paintsil, who has penned a four-year contract with the MLS franchise.

Galaxy have signed the Ghana international, 26, as a designated player.

“We are pleased to add a player of Joseph’s quality to the LA Galaxy,” the team’s head coach, Greg Vanney, said. “Joseph is a dynamic winger with and without the ball who possesses the capacity to change games instantly. We look forward to integrating him into our group quickly.”

Belgian league winner with Genk

Paintsil scored 61 goals and supplied 35 assists in 228 games in European soccer, across spells at Belgians Genk, Turkish club Ankaragücü and Hungary’s Ferencváros. During his six years with Genk, he won the 2018/19 domestic league title and the 2019 Belgian Super Cup.

In his final season in Belgium, the forward racked up 32 goal involvements - 18 goals and 14 assists - in 39 appearances.

Capped 14 times by Ghana, Paintsil was part of the Black Stars’ squad at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, featuring in all three of his team’s games.

“A dynamic attacker in the prime of his career”

“Joseph has been a key member of one of the best clubs in Belgium’s top flight and one of Africa’s most prominent national teams over the past few years and we are thrilled to announce that he is joining the LA Galaxy,” the franchise’s general manager, Will Kuntz, said.

“We are looking forward to adding such a dynamic attacker in the prime of his career to our group and for him to be a key figure in our pursuit of our next trophies.”

What is a designated player?

Also known as the ‘Beckham Rule’, the ‘designated player’ rule allows clubs in the MLS to have up to three players in their squad on wages that exceed the salary cap imposed by the league. The system was introduced in 2007, with current Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham becoming the first designated player in MLS when he joined the Galaxy that year.