Christian Benteke

Christian Benteke Liolo is a soccer player playing for DC United.

He is a Belgium international striker, who started with Standard Liege and Genk in his homeland at youth level. After productive loan stints at Kortrijk and Mechelen as a teenager in 2009 and 2010, he re-joined Genk where he impressed with 16 goals in 32 league games, prompting Aston Villa to sign him for 7 million pounds in August 2012 on a four-year deal.

Benteke scored 19 Premier League goals in his first season at Villa and was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year. He netted 49 times across 101 games in all competitions in three seasons, winning the Premier League Player of the Month in April 2015, before Liverpool signed him in July 2015. Benteke's time at Anfield wasn't as good, often restricted to appearances off the bench, scoring nine league goals before moving to Crystal Palace after one season.

Benteke spent the next six seasons at Crystal Palace with mixed returns, netting 15 times in his debut season at Selhurst Park, while one campaign he didn't score until December and injuries impacted him too. He left Palace for MLS club DC United, coached by Wayne Rooney, in August 2022.

He has played for Belgium, debuting in 2010, while he has appeared at Euro 2016 and Euro 2020, but missed out on the 2014 World Cup due to an Achilles injury and was overlooked in 2018 when Belgium came third.