Liverpool today announced the signing of prolific forward Christian Benteke from Aston Villa – learn more about the Reds’ latest acquisition with these 10 facts.
Benteke was born in the African city of Kinshasa, which is also the birthplace of former Premier League stars Claude Makelele, Jose Bosingwa and Fabrice Muamba.
Prior to joining Aston Villa, Benteke represented Standard Liege and Genk during the early stages of his career and also enjoyed loan spells with Kortrijk and Mechelen, all in his homeland.
The Belgian has come up against Liverpool on six occasions since making the switch to England, earning two wins and one draw. Incredibly, he has scored five goals against the Reds during those games.
Football appears to run in the striker’s family given that his brother, Jonathan, is also a professional who currently plies his trade for SV Zulte Waregem in the Belgian Pro League.
Benteke was the ninth-highest scorer in the Premier League last season with 13 goals, despite the injury which saw him miss out on the World Cup restricting him to just 26 starts.
The 24-year-old is already established on the international stage, having scored seven times in 24 appearances for the Belgium national team since making his bow against Bulgaria in May 2010.
When he makes his Reds debut, Benteke will become the third Belgian to represent Liverpool, with new teammates Simon Mignolet and Divock Origi the first and second respectively.
The forward becomes the third player to swap Villa Park for Anfield, following in the footsteps of Steve McMahon and Stewart Downing. Remarkably, 13 players have gone in the opposite direction.
Supporters can keep up with Christian’s updates on social media through his official Twitter account – @bentekechris20 – and on Facebook.
Benteke shares a birthday with former Reds midfielder Istvan Kozma, who made six appearances for the club between 1992 and 1993.
