Christian Benteke - 10 facts you need to know about Liverpool's new striker
1. Christian Benteke Liolo was born in what is now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire, but at the age of two moved with his family to Liege in Belgium, where he grew up playing street football alongside the likes of Zenit St Petersburg's Axel Witsel.
Christian Benteke
2. Benteke joined local club JS Pierreuse at six years old before moving to Standard Liege's youth ranks in 2004 and then onto Genk, where he made his professional debut as a 17-year-old in 2007.
Christian Benteke
3. In a somewhat circuitous start to his footballing career Benteke rejoined Standard Liege in the 2008-09 season, helping the club to win the Belgian league title, before returning to Genk in 2011 and scoring 19 goals in 37 appearances during one season at the club.
Christian Benteke
4. Benteke was a member of the Belgium U17 team that played at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in South Korea, rising through the ranks to make his senior debut against Bulgaria, in Brussels, in 2010.
Christian Benteke
5. He currently has 24 caps for Les Diables Rouges. He scored two goals in seven appearances during qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, but missed out on the finals in Brazil through injury.
Christian Benteke
6. He was snapped up by Aston Villa in the summer of 2012 for around £7 million and was the most expensive purchase of the club's eight-player recruitment drive, which also saw Karim El Ahmadi, Brett Holman, Matthew Lowton, Ron Vlaar, Joe Bennett, Jordan Bowery and Ashley Westwood arrive at Villa Park.
Christian Benteke
7. Benteke joined Aston Villa having already scored three times for Genk at the start of Belgian season and marked his debut in English foorball with a goal against Swansea City. He went on to net 19 strikes to finish the campaign as the fourth highest scorer in the Premier League.
Christian Benteke
8. Since making his Aston Villa debut on September 15, 2012, only Robin van Persie (44), Luis Suarez (53) and Segio Aguero (55) have scored more Premier League goals than Benteke (42).
Christian Benteke
9. In the final 13 games of last season, Benteke scored 12 goals as a resurgent Aston Villa moved clear of relegation and reached the FA Cup final. During that run, he scored the equaliser in Liverpool's FA Cup semi-final defeat at Wembley.
Christian Benteke
10. Such was his form at the end of the 2014-15 season, Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood said of Benteke: "I don't know if there is a better striker in Europe at the moment."
Christian Benteke
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