Paulo Josué

Paulo Josué Stürmer dos Reis (born 13 March 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a forward for Malaysia Super League club Kuala Lumpur City which he captains. Born in Brazil, he plays for the Malaysia national team.

Josué also holds the records for being both the all-time top scorer and the player with the highest number of appearances for Kuala Lumpur City in their history.

Club career Career in Brazil Josué had played with six different Brazilian clubs before moving abroad.

Kuala Lumpur City On 2 June 2017, Josué joined Malaysia Premier League club Kuala Lumpur City in a mid-season transfer. He scored 6 goals from 9 league matches and helped the club win the 2017 Malaysia Premier League which saw the club promoted to the 2018 Malaysia Super League. Josué scored 7 goals during his debut in the Malaysia Super League. His contribution helped Kuala Lumpur maintain its top-flight status in the Malaysia Super League.

In the 2019 season, Josué did not manage to stop the club from being relegated as the club finished bottom of the table.

Josué was made the captain of Kuala Lumpur City in 2020, a rare achievement for a foreign player.

In the 2021 season, Josué captained the team to the final of the 2021 Malaysia Cup. Against the overwhelming favourites Johor Darul Ta'zim, Kuala Lumpur City managed to beat the odds and won the game 2–0. Josué scored the second goal to claim the cup. He also notably scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 league win over Penang on 4 May 2021 and also recorded a hat-trick of assist in a league match against Perak on 17 March 2021 in a 3–0 win during the season.

On 9 April 2022, Josué scored a brace in a 2–0 win over Melaka United to gain the 3 points in the league. During the 2022 AFC Cup campaign, Josué scored a brace in a 2–1 win over Singaporean side Tampines Rovers on 30 June 2022. The win helped his side qualify for the knockout stage of the AFC Cup, where they faced Vietnamese side Viettel and defeated them in a penalty shoot-out. Josué would then go on to score a brace in a 5–2 home win against Indonesian club PSM Makassar on 24 August, which saw Kuala Lumpur City advance to the quarter-finals against Indian club ATK Mohun Bagan at the Salt Lake Stadium on 7 September. Josué scored in the 60th minute before the opponent scored in the 90th minute to equalise the match at 1–1. With five minutes added in stoppage time, Josué assisted Fakrul Aiman in the 90+2nd minute, who scored the winner. In the 90+5th minute, Romel Morales sealed the victory with a scoreline of 3–1, which enabled the club to advance to the semi-final against Uzbekistani club Sogdiana Jizzakh at the Sogdiyona Sport Majmuasi. Josué aided his team in another penalty shoot-out, which saw Kuala Lumpur City advance to the 2022 AFC Cup Final against Omani club Al-Seeb at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on 22 October. Unfortunately, Kuala Lumpur City lost the final in a 3–0 defeat.

In 2023, Josué helped Kuala Lumpur City advance to the 2023 Malaysia FA Cup final but lost to Johor Darul Ta'zim 2–0.

During the 2024–25 ASEAN Club Championship against Philippines club Kaya–Iloilo on 22 August, Josué assisted Haqimi Azim to score the winner. On 14 September 2024, Josué scored his first club hat-trick in a 5–0 league win over Kedah Darul Aman. On 1 December 2024, Josué made history by surpassing Fandi Ahmad as the top goalscorer of all time for Kuala Lumpur City. He went on to win the FAM Football Awards 'Best Striker' award for the 2024–25 season. It was also his best season during his time with the club where he went on to score 20 goals and recorded 11 assists in 29 appearances across all competition played.

International career Having played in Malaysia for the past seven years, Josué obtained Malaysian citizenship on 25 February 2023, allowing him to be registered as a local player and making him eligible for selection to the Malaysia national team. He received his first call-up on 18 March 2023 for a training camp ahead of friendly matches against Turkmenistan and Hong Kong. He made his debut for Malaysia against Turkmenistan on 23 March 2023 at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium.

He played as a false nine in the starting line-up against the Solomon Islands in a friendly and scored his first international goal on 14 June 2023 at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium. He was deployed in the same role again against the Papua New Guinea in another international friendly on 20 June 2023, where he scored his first international hat-trick in a 10–0 victory for Malaysia at the same venue.

Josué also represented the nation at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup held in Qatar. On 25 January 2024, with Malaysia trailing 2–3 against South Korea, he assisted the goal scored by Romel Morales in the 90+15th minute of stoppage time, securing Malaysia their first point of the tournament.

During the 2024 ASEAN Championship match against the Timor-Leste, with Malaysia trailing 2–1, he scored a brace to secure a 3–2 comeback win and all three points for the team.

Josué was than selected as the captain for Malaysia during the 2026 ASEAN Championship where he went on to score a brace in the first match in a 2–1 win against Myanmar on 25 July 2026.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club Kuala Lumpur City Malaysia Cup: 2021 Malaysia Premier League: 2017 AFC Cup runner-up: 2022

International Malaysia Merdeka Tournament: 2024

Individual AFC Cup Top goal scorer: 2022 FAM Football Awards – Best Striker: 2024–25