Christian Benteke has made only two starts for Crystal Palace this season and has struggled to find the back of the net, managing only one goal in the league since the start of the last campaign.
Despite the limited playing time and failure to impress when given an opportunity, the striker signed a one-year extension last month.
Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad published an interview with the 28-year-old over the weekend and he explained why he decided to sign a new deal at Selhurst Park.
“A while ago [Palace proposed extension offer]. I talked to my agent and my wife. She loves London. We have been living here since 2016 and do not want to disturb the children too much now they are in daycare or go to school,” he said.
“I don’t want to leave. And just go somewhere and leave my family in London, I don’t want to. I am 28 years old; I want stability. I’m not going to leave to play one year somewhere.”
“And I didn’t want to leave as a thief because I was free in January. I have loved football since I was a kid and I have always been someone who is honest and correct. I wanted to give the club the chance to recover part of the investment if I left.”
Five days ago, Benteke admitted he will ‘think and see’ what can be done in the winter market, while talking about the difficulty in his situation with Roy Hodgson’s side.
Though the player has not discussed the possibility of leaving Palace in January, Het Nieuwsblad asked the former Liverpool man if his idea is to leave the English club after this season so that they can earn money from his sale.
Responding to that, Benteke explained: “You never know that. A very busy period will soon begin. There will certainly be chances of playing during Christmas and the festive season.
“Everything then depends on me. But I am not the one who calculates: ‘I am going to score ten goals and at the end of the season I will leave’. I just try to make the best of it on the pitch when I play.”
There have been rumours linking him with a move to China and Turkey, but Benteke doesn’t give much notice to these claims.
“To be honest, I don’t know that. I don’t read it. Sometimes there is a friend of mine who forwards something on WhatsApp. But as long as there is no specific offer on paper, I am not interested. The rest are just rumours,” the Palace player added.
