'I left Liverpool because I didn't want to become a loser – I found a way to be happy' - The Mirror

Christian Benteke joined Liverpool from Aston Villa in 2015 but the striker failed to live up to his reputation before choosing to leave Jurgen Klopp's team for Crystal Palace

Former Liverpool striker Christian Benteke admitted to leaving the club to avoid being a “loser”.

The Belgian forward struggled in his short spell with the Reds despite previously lighting up the Premier League and almost single-handedly keeping Aston Villa in the top flight. Benteke bagged 23 goals during his first season in England and left Villa Park with a stellar record of 49 goals in 101 games.

This convinced Liverpool to stump up £32.5million for Villa’s talisman in 2015, becoming the club’s second-most expensive signing, but Benteke failed to have the same impact at Anfield. His sole season with the club saw him limited to 14 league starts, notching nine goals, with his demotion to the bench coinciding with Jurgen Klopp’s arrival as manager.

While the new boss led Liverpool to both the League Cup and Europa League finals, the writing was already on the wall for Benteke. The Belgium international sealed a £27m move to Crystal Palace that summer and was brutally honest about his reasons for not sticking it out with the Reds.

"When Klopp came in, given the players available to him ... I wasn't among his first choices,” Benteke told L’Equipe in 2016. "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."

"It's thanks to Alan Pardew that I came [to Crystal Palace], because he believes in me,” he added. “I needed to get some playing time. I scored early, which was important."

HAVE YOUR SAY! Did Christian Benteke make a mistake joining Liverpool? Tell us in the comments section below

Benteke made a strong start to life at Palace, scoring 17 goals including a brace in a 2-1 win over Liverpool. The striker remained at Selhurst Park until 2022 and has since rediscovered his clinical edge in MLS with DC United, scoring 25 goals in 33 games this season.

Approaching a decade since his switch to Liverpool, Benteke was arguably happiest at Villa, where he developed a knack for scoring against his future club. Notably, his brace helped Paul Lambert’s side to a 3-1 win at Anfield in 2012 and he also scored in an FA Cup semi-final victory three years later.

Benteke’s two former clubs are set to meet at Anfield tonight (8pm). Liverpool will aim to maintain their lead over Manchester City at the top of the table, while Villa will hope to get back to winning ways after a tough week and keep themselves firmly in the race for a Champions League spot.

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