Christian Benteke: 'No rift with Jurgen Klopp'

Former Liverpool striker Christian Benteke has rejected claims that he fell out with manager Jurgen Klopp during his time at Anfield.

Benteke was taken to the club by Brendan Rodgers last summer, but soon found himself down the pecking order following Klopp's arrival, starting just eight of his 23 league appearances under the former Borussia Dortmund boss.

The Belgian has since joined Crystal Palace, but he insists that there was no rift with Klopp before leaving Merseyside.

"I do not think so. We've always had a good relationship. I went to see him after my first season at Aston Villa in 2013, because he wanted me at Dortmund, he liked my style of play," he told L'Equipe.

"When I signed for Liverpool, Rodgers wanted me; it all went well, I decided to go there and six matches after he was fired.

"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."

Benteke has already made as many Premier League starts for Palace as he did for Liverpool, scoring eight times in 14 appearances so far this season.