Paulo Josué
Malaysian footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paulo Josué Stürmer dos Reis[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 13 March 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | Canela, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Kuala Lumpur City | ||
| Number | 28 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2012 | Juventude | 1 | (0) |
| 2013 | Esportivo | 15 | (5) |
| 2013–2014 | Juventude | 6 | (1) |
| 2014 | Passo Fundo | 2 | (0) |
| 2014 | Marcílio Dias | 6 | (1) |
| 2015 | Lajeadense | 13 | (1) |
| 2015 | Votuporanguense | 8 | (1) |
| 2015–2016 | Lajeadense | 1 | (0) |
| 2017 | Votuporanguense | 15 | (2) |
| 2017 | Boa Esporte | 0 | (0) |
| 2017– | Kuala Lumpur City | 169 | (67) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023– | Malaysia | 27 | (10) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 27 September 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 9 October 2025 | |||
Club career
Career in Brazil
Josué had played with six different Brazilian clubs before moving abroad.[2]
Kuala Lumpur City
2017
On 2 June 2017, Josué joined Malaysia Premier League club Kuala Lumpur City in a mid-season transfer.[3] 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.
2018
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.
2019
In the 2019 season, he did not manage to stop the club from being relegated as the club finished bottom of the table.
2020
He was made the captain of Kuala Lumpur City in 2020, a rare achievement for a foreign player.
2021
In 2021, 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.
2022
On 9 April, 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.
2023
In 2023, Josué helped Kuala Lumpur City advance to the 2023 Malaysia FA Cup final but lost to Johor Darul Ta'zim 2–0.
2024
During the 2024–25 ASEAN Club Championship against Philippines club Kaya–Iloilo on 22 August, Josué assisted Haqimi Azim to scored 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 top goalscoring of all time for Kuala Lumpur City. He went on to win the FAM Football Awards 'Best Striker' award for the 2024–25 season.
International career
Having played in Malaysia for the past seven years, Josué obtained Malaysian citizenship in early 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 the 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.
Career statistics
Club
- As of 27 September 2025
| Club | Season | League | National cup [a] | League cup [b] | Continental [c] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Kuala Lumpur | 2017 | 9 | 6 | – | 6 | 0 | – | 15 | 6 | ||
| 2018 | 21 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1 | – | 30 | 10 | ||
| 2019 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | – | 29 | 7 | ||
| 2020 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 10 | 4 | ||
| 2021 | 20 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | – | 31 | 10 | ||
| 2022 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 33 | 13 | |
| 2023 | 24 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 11 | |
| 2024–25 | 21 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 29 | 20 | |
| 2025–26 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | |
| Total | 151 | 64 | 14 | 5 | 37 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 214 | 83 | |
| Career total | 151 | 64 | 14 | 5 | 37 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 214 | 83 | |
- Includes Malaysia FA Cup
- Includes Malaysia Cup and Malaysia Challenge Cup
International
- As of match played 23 March 2025[4]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | 2023 | 8 | 4 |
| 2024 | 16 | 4 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 1 | |
| Total | 26 | 9 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 June 2023 | Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, Terengganu, Malaysia |  Solomon Islands | 1–1 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 20 June 2023 | Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, Terengganu, Malaysia |  Papua New Guinea | 2–0 | 10–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 6–0 | |||||
| 4 | 7–0 | |||||
| 9 January 2024 | Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar |  Syria | 2–2 | 2–2 | Friendly1 | |
| 5 | 11 June 2024 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |  Chinese Taipei | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 18 November 2024 | G. M. C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium, Gachibowli, India |  India | 0–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 7 | 11 December 2024 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |  Timor-Leste | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2024 ASEAN Championship |
| 8 | 3–2 | |||||
| 9 | 29 May 2025 | Kuala Lumpur Stadium, Kuala Lumpur |  Cape Verde | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 10 | 14 October 2025 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |  Laos | 5–1 | 5–1 | 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
1 Not FIFA 'A' International match.
Honours
Club
Kuala Lumpur City
- Malaysia Cup: 2021
- Malaysia Premier League: 2017
- AFC Cup runner-up: 2022
International
Malaysia
Individual
- AFC Cup Top goal scorer: 2022
- FAM Football Awards – Best Striker: 2024–25