'I didn't want to be a loser under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool so I joined Crystal Palace'

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Christian Benteke once admitted he left Liverpool to avoid being a "loser" . The Belgian, 35, endured a difficult year-long stint with the Reds.

Benteke had thrived at his former club, Aston Villa , where he had an outstanding record of scoring a goal every two matches. That convinced Liverpool , under Brendan Rodgers , to shell out a then substantial fee of £32.5million for the Villa striker in the summer of 2015, making him the club's second-most expensive acquisition.

However, the Belgium international couldn't replicate the same form at Anfield. Following Jurgen Klopp 's appointment in October 2015, the new manager initially got the best out of Benteke but used him less frequently as the campaign wore on.

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His demotion to the substitutes' bench restricted him to just 14 league starts that season. Despite scoring nine goals, it became clear Benteke's days were numbered at the end of the season, given Klopp's tactical preferences.

Benteke completed a £27m transfer to Crystal Palace in the summer of 2016 after reaching the finals of the League Cup and the Europa League and suffering defeat in both matches. The striker, now with UAE outfit Al-Wahda, was completely honest when outlining why he left Merseyside at the time, saying he'd rather leave than complain about his role in the squad.

He told L'Equipe in 2016: "When Klopp came in, given the players available to him... I wasn't among his first choices. Given the way he wanted to play, perhaps there were more interesting players than me.

"But I'm not a child: I didn't cry, I didn't moan, even if of course I wanted to play. It was frustrating.

"You can't allow yourself to give up, to stay in the situation of a loser, so you try to find a solution, to be happy. I found that by coming to Crystal Palace, and I'm happy today."

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Following a tally of eight goals in his opening 13 matches for Palace, Benteke added: "It's thanks to Alan Pardew that I came [to Crystal Palace], because he believes in me. I needed to get some playing time. I scored early, which was important."

Benteke's impressive start also included a brace in a 2-1 victory over Liverpool. He remained at Selhurst Park until 2022 and rediscovered his lethal touch in MLS with DC United, managing 25 goals in 33 matches in 2024.

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