Ex-Premier League striker Christian Benteke has gone from a Liverpool flop to now outscoring Lionel Messi in the MLS.
Benteke, who turns 34 today, had a good time in English football. Not bad, not great, just good. He showed his goal scoring ability while at Aston Villa where he bagged 49 goals from 101 games.
A couple of hat-tricks and a Premier League Player of the Month award only added to the interest shown by Liverpool. In 2015, the Reds bought Benteke, meeting his release clause of £32.5m. At the time, this made him the second most expensive transfer the club had ever made.
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Only two years later, Jurgen Klopp would sign Mohamed Salah for £2m more than he paid for Benteke – but is the Egyptian really worth more than the Belgian striker was to Liverpool?
Yes, of course he is. Benteke only scored 10 goals for Liverpool and left after one season. After a longer stint at Crystal Palace where he spent the most time at across all his clubs, he now plays in the MLS for DC United where he has found a fresh love for scoring goals.
(Image: Getty Images)
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It was Wayne Rooney who signed the striker when he was Head Coach of the MLS side. Rooney said on the strikers arrival: “Christian is a top player who has played at the highest level for a long time. His experience and ability to score goals and help the team will be invaluable.
Many fans would have fairly suggested that Benteke was heading to the MLS to finish his career as many footballers have done in the past. However, it looks to have been exactly the opposite with the Belgian striker winning the 2024 MLS Golden Boot, beating arguably the greatest footballer ever, Messi.
He didn’t only beat the World Cup winner by three goals, but he also topped the likes of another former-Liverpool striker Luiz Suarez by the same margin. If that wasn’t enough, he continued to set a new club record for most goals scored across all competitions with 25.
Both Messi and Suarez play for Inter Miami, the club co-owned by David Beckham. Inter topped their league table, the Eastern Conference, finishing a staggering 34 points above DC United. In fact, DC didn’t even make it into the final series play-offs. This makes Benteke’s achievement even more surprising.