Christian Benteke

Christian Benteke Liolo (born 3 December 1990) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club D.C. United and the Belgium national team.

Benteke was born in Kinshasa in 1990.

He and his family fled during the Mobutu regime and in 1993 emigrated to Liège, Belgium.

Benteke played youth football for JS Pierreuse and later Standard Liège before moving to Genk.

Benteke scored a deflected goal in a 2–1 victory at Reading, scoring the club's 1,000th goal in the Premier League in the process.

The following week he went on to score a goal that sealed a 3–2 win over Queens Park Rangers.

He then scored the third goal to seal a 3–1 win against relegation rivals Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium.

Benteke began his career at Standard Liège, playing a part in their 2008–09 Belgian First Division triumph.

Following a season at Genk he was signed for £7 million by Aston Villa.

He rejoined Standard in January 2009 and scored three goals in 12 matches as the Walloon club won the 2008–09 Belgian championship.

On 7 August 2009, he joined KV Kortrijk on loan for a season, where he scored 14 goals in the Belgian Pro League, including five goals in the championship play-offs, as the club achieved its best ever finish.

He spent the following season on loan at KV Mechelen as part of the transfer of Aloys Nong, who moved from Mechelen to Standard Liège.

Benteke's spell at Mechelen was less successful, with seven goals from 25 appearances.

Benteke has earned over forty caps for Belgium since making his debut in 2010.

He recorded his 10th goal of the season with a 28-yard strike against West Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion in a 2–2 draw at The Hawthorns.

The goal was nominated for January's goal of the month competition on Match of the Day.

He then netted Villa's first goal in their 2–1 League Cup semi-final victory over Bradford City.

However, the victory was not enough as Bradford won 4–3 on aggregate to progress to the final.

Former England striker Michael Owen called him one of the signings of the season and posted a tweet the day after the semi-final saying: 'I'm seriously impressed with Benteke.

What a player.' Benteke continued his rich scoring form with a goal against Newcastle United and a brace against Everton, in a game that Villa had led 3–1 at one point but eventually finished 3–3.

He returned to Genk from Standard in August 2011 for an undisclosed fee, and went on to score 16 goals and register nine assists in 20 starts during the 2011–12 season.

After beginning the 2012–13 season with three goals from five league matches, Benteke was subject of an offer of €6m from Premier League club Aston Villa in August 2012.

On 31 August 2012, Benteke joined Premier League club Aston Villa on a four-year deal for a fee believed to be around £7 million.

On 15 September 2012, Benteke scored on his debut for Aston Villa in a 2–0 win against Swansea City, after coming on as a substitute for Austrian forward Andreas Weimann.

The goal came when Swansea defender Ashley Williams headed the ball into Benteke's path, which he then lifted over the keeper and tapped in on the volley.

Villa manager Paul Lambert praised Benteke's performance on his debut calling him "unplayable".

He then scored Villa's only goal in a 1–1 home draw with Norwich City.

He added a further two goals to his tally during a 3–2 victory over Swindon Town in the League Cup.

He scored the winner in a 1–0 Premier League victory for Villa against Reading at Villa Park on 27 November to continue his impressive start in English football.

Benteke then scored Villa's fourth goal in a 4–1 League Cup win over Norwich City at Carrow Road.

Benteke further added to his impressive start in Premier League football by scoring two goals in Villa's 3–1 win against Liverpool at Anfield on 15 December.

In addition to the two goals, he also assisted Villa's second goal with a back-heel to Andreas Weimann.

Paul Lambert said afterwards that 'Benteke has been unbelievable', after already stating midweek (post–Norwich) that 'you run out of things to say about the guy, how well he's performing and how young he is'.

Around Christmas time, Tottenham Hotspur manager André Villas-Boas was reportedly interested in signing Benteke, referring to him as the season's "surprise package".

After not scoring for three games, Benteke scored Villa's first penalty kick in almost a year in a 2–2 draw away to Swansea City in Villa's first game of 2013.

He racked up his 15th goal in all competitions, as well as tallying six goals in five games, when he scored a penalty in a 2–1 victory against West Ham United on 10 February 2013.

This was Villa's first league victory in eight games, since Benteke inspired the win against Liverpool back in December.

He missed the 2014 FIFA World Cup through injury, but was part of their team that reached the quarter-finals of UEFA Euro 2016, also featuring at UEFA Euro 2020.

He scored 49 goals in 101 matches for Villa across all competitions, including 19 Premier League goals in his debut season and helping them to the 2015 FA Cup Final, before transferring to Liverpool in 2015 for £32.5 million.

He spent a single season at Liverpool, scoring a total of 10 goals, before being transferred to Crystal Palace at the start of the 2016–17 season.