How much Christian Benteke earned a week at DC United as Coventry City urged to move | OneFootball

Coventry City have been urged to sign the 35-year-old, but how much will he be expecting after three years in the MLS

Christian Benteke is a free agent, and Coventry City have been urged to take in the 35-year-old as he begins to wind down his career.

The 45-time Belgian international scored 49 goals during his three years at DC United in the MLS, and announced on his Instagram that he would be departing the club after the Washington-based side declined his 2026 contract option.

Benteke had spent his entire career before his 2022 move Stateside either in his native Belgium or in England, and some fans of Championship clubs have expressed their desire to bring him to the second tier if it is a return to England that the 35-year-old decides to make.

Chris Deez, Football League World's Coventry fan pundit, said that his side should do whatever it takes to add the 2024 MLS Golden Boot winner to their already impressive attacking ranks.

However, he did mention one potential stumbling block in how much he was earning over the past few years in America.

How much Christian Benteke was earning in the MLS at DC United

According to The Athletic, Benteke was the 11th-highest paid player in the MLS in 2025 and was guaranteed compensation of $4.9 million when he departed DC United.

In terms of how much he earned per week during his time in Washington, Capology estimates that Benteke earned £58,717 in 2022, then £62,387 in 2023 and 2024, and £66,057 this past year.

When comparing that to the wage bill at the CBS Arena this season, the Belgian forward dwarfs everybody's earnings in the current Coventry side, with four players, Luke Woolfenden, Matt Grimes, Ellis Simms and Haji Wright, earning a team-high £25,000 per week according to Capology's estimates.

Benteke would need to take a large wage cut if he were to find himself playing for the majority of clubs currently in the Championship, and for a man who was said to be earning £120,000 per week during the six years he was at Crystal Palace, perhaps that may be a wage cut too far.

Coventry City arguably don't need Christian Benteke — especially if he demands large wages

Whilst Benteke could come into the Championship in the coming months and be a scoring and an aerial threat, a side like Coventry arguably doesn't need any attacking reinforcements anytime soon.

Goals are coming from all over the pitch currently at the CBS Arena, and it would be seen as a signing for signing's sake for the side that are challenging for the Championship title and are already well on their way to breaking Fulham's record-breaking 106-goal campaign.

Additionally, with two current strikers in Simms and Wright being at the top of the wage bill, Doug King may be wary of adding another highly-paid forward in Benteke to his roster, especially if he wouldn't contribute much to a Premier League campaign, which seems on the horizon.

It seems unlikely that one of the highest earners in the MLS in 2025 would want to accept a fraction of his weekly wage in the Championship, and if that turns out to be the case, perhaps Coventry have dodged a bullet.