Christian Benteke leaves D.C. United and becomes a Free Agent

On Monday afternoon, via his social platforms, former Belgian International Christian Benteke announced that he would be leaving D.C. United after four seasons with the club, days after the team announced that it would not pick up the final year of his contract.

“Thank you to D.C. United for giving me the opportunity to grow and prove myself in MLS,” Benteke said. “To the fans, my teammates, the staff and the city, your support during my 3 years meant everything to me.”

Christian Benteke leaves D.C. United after 4 seasons with the club. Photo Credit: D.C. United

The 35-year-old striker has made an impact since arriving at the Black-and-Red in the summer of 2022 as a Designated Player. During his time in D.C., Benteke scored 47 goals in 93 appearances. Benteke's best season as a member of the Black-and-Red was in the 2024 season, where he won the Golden Boot after scoring 23 goals, becoming only the third player in franchise history to win the Golden Boot, the other two being Luciano Emilio in 2007 and Dwayne DeRosario in 2011. He also tied the club record for most goals scored by a D.C. United player in a single season, tying Raul Diaz Arce, who netted 23 goals in the 1996 season.

This season, Benteke entered the final year of his contract extension with the club. Benteke was the club's highest and only designated player for the season, with Benteke making $4.5 million during the 2025 season, the 11th-highest contract in the league according to the MLS Players' Association salary guide.

D.C. decided to opt out of Benteke's final year of his contract on November 26th when the club announced their final roster decisions allowing him to explore Free Agency, which opens up on December 10th.

“Although we declined Christian Benteke’s contract option, we remain in discussions with his representatives regarding a potential return in 2026,” Managing Director of Soccer Operations Erkut Sogut said “We are also actively working to identify and recruit top-level talent, including Designated Players, as part of our broader roster build moving forward.”

Benteke could not repeat the same production in the 2025 season as he did in 2024, being sidelined throughout a good portion of this past season due to numerous injuries, only scoring nine goals and getting three assists this season. His last goal as a D.C. player came in D.C. United's 3-2 loss on the road against Inter Miami on September 20th.

United experienced one of its worst seasons in some time, finishing last place in the MLS standings with a (5-18-11 record) with 26 points, finishing behind Atlanta United in the standings. The season saw United go through three coaching changes throughout the season and have the team miss out of the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season in a row.