Benteke, an ex-Aston Villa star, was crowned MLS' finest finisher Saturday after leading the league in scoring.
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- Christian Benteke wins MLS Golden Boot
- D.C. forward scored 23 regular season goals
- Finishes ahead of Suarez, Bouanga and Hernandez
- Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games now
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WHAT HAPPENED?
Christian Benteke has won the 2024 MLS Golden Boot after finishing the regular season with 23 goals. The Belgian forward finished atop the league standings as the regular season wrapped Saturday evening with the conclusion of Decision Day 2024.
The D.C. United star started in all 30 of his appearances for the this season, accumulating 2,601 minutes of regular season action across the campaign.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Benteke beat out the likes of LAFC's Denis Bouanga, Inter Miami's Luis Suarez and Columbus Crew's Cucho Hernandez to claim the 2024 award.
Only three of Benteke's 23 goals came from the penalty spot, but he offered a 100 percent conversion rate from the spot when asked to. He surpassed his season-long expected-goals percentage, too, which was 20.61 xG.
Additionally, he recorded seven assists, making it 30-total goal-contributions in 30 appearances.
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PREVIOUS GOLDEN BOOT WINNERS
Over the past 10 years, LAFC are the club with the most individual winners, but ex-RBNY star Bradley Wright-Phillips is the only multi-year winner across the decade.
| Player |
Club |
Year |
Goals |
| Bradley Wright-Phillips |
New York Red Bulls |
2014 |
27 goals |
| Sebastian Giovinco |
Toronto FC |
2015 |
22 goals |
| Bradley Wright-Phillips |
New York Red Bulls |
2016 |
24 goals |
| Nemanja Nikolic |
Chicago Fire |
2017 |
24 goals |
| Josef Martinez |
Atlanta United |
2018 |
31 goals |
| Carlos Vela |
LAFC |
2019 |
34 goals |
| Diego Rossi |
LAFC |
2020 |
14 goals |
| Taty Castellanos |
New York City FC |
2021 |
19 goals |
| Hany Mukhtar |
Nashville SC |
2022 |
23 goals |
| Denis Bouanga |
LAFC |
2023 |
20 goals |
- USA Today Images
WHAT NEXT FOR BENTEKE?
D.C. were eliminated from the 2024 MLS postseason Saturday evening, falling just short in their search for playoff soccer. A 3-0 loss to Charlotte FC was not enough to get them over the line, as they exited contention due to Atlanta United having a better goal-differential after the two teams both ended on 40 points.