Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira has shed some light on why Christian Benteke joined Wayne Rooney’s DC United ahead of the Premier League opener against Arsenal.
The Belgian striker called time on his six-year spell with the Eagles to join the MLS side on Friday. Benteke arrived in south London side in 2016 for a club record transfer fee of £32.5million under former manager Alan Pardew, and went on to play 177 times for Palace, scoring 37 goals.
He was set to be involved in the matchday squad for Friday night’s Premier League fixture against Arsenal, which ended in a 2-0 defeat for the Eagles. But the 31-year-old was given the go ahead to step away from preparations for the fixture by Vieira to finalise his two-and-a-half year deal with DC, which includes an option for a further year.
