NEW YORK (Sunday, October 9, 2022) – Nashville SC midfielder Hany Mukhtar has won the 2022 MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi after scoring a league-high 23 goals in a tightly-contested race that came down to Decision Day 2022 – the final day of the MLS regular season. Mukhtar held off Austin FC’s Sebastián Driussi (22 goals) and the Philadelphia Union’s Dániel Gazdag (22 goals) to take home the honor.
- Highlights of Mukhtar’s Golden Boot season can be found HERE
- Mukhtar soundbyte reactions after tonight’s match are available HERE
The first Nashville SC player to win the award in club history, Mukhtar scored 21 goals of his 23 goals in the final 22 games of the season. His late-season surge culminated in a league-high 11 goals since the start of August with 10 of those coming at his home stadium, the newly-opened GEODIS Park. Mukhtar’s 23 goals are also a single-season club record and the most by an MLS player in a single season since 2019. Mukhtar has accounted for 44.2% of Nashville’s goals (23 of 52) in 2022, which was the highest percentage in MLS this season. The midfielder’s sensational goal-scoring helped Nashville finish fifth in the Western Conference and earn a berth in the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Mukhtar becomes the first player from Germany to claim the league’s scoring crown and the third European-born player to win the Golden Boot presented by Audi since 2005, along with Nemanja Nikolić (2017) and Bradley Wright-Phillips (2014 and 2016). Additionally, Mukhtar joins Carlos Vela (2019), Sebastian Giovinco (2015), and Jeff Cunningham (2006) as the only players since 2005 to win the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi and also record 10 assists in the same season. Nashville is the fifth expansion club since 2005 to have a player earn the honor within their first three MLS seasons.
Through his prolific goal-scoring efforts, Mukhtar has raised a total of $36,500 for MLS academies through the ‘Audi Goals Drive Progress’ program, a multi-year initiative launched by Audi and dedicated to expanding the breadth of academy resources through contributions toward player education, housing, and transportation. To ensure that young players are supported as they endeavor to maintain excellence on the pitch and in the classroom, the funds raised by Mukhtar include $500 per goal scored during the 2022 MLS regular season to be distributed to all MLS academies, and an additional $25,000 contribution to the Nashville SC academy for winning the Golden Boot presented by Audi.
“Audi is proud to support MLS and its journey to showcase the next generation of soccer talent,” said Adam Perez, Strategic Partnership Specialist, Audi of America. “We’re pleased to congratulate Hany Mukhtar on his Golden Boot win, and look forward to our continued commitment to the growth of soccer in the U.S. as well as driving individual progress both on and off the pitch through our ‘Audi Goals Drive Progress’ program.” |
