Forgotten Liverpool flop now LEADING Messi & Suarez in Golden Boot race

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are lighting up MLS this season - but both trail a former Liverpool flop in the Golden Boot race.

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are the stars of Major League Soccer right now. The two all-time greats play for Inter Miami and are enjoying a wonderful campaign so far.

Bother sit as joint-third top scorers, with Messi's stats looking particularly ridiculous. The Argentine has 11 goals in 11 games as well as 12 assists.

It means he's averaging 2 goals and assists per 90 minutes. Just outrageous numbers, even if it is in a 'weaker' league.

Both, however, trail a former Liverpool player in the Golden Boot race - and not a particularly good former Liverpool player, either.

Christian Benteke is currently the joint-top goalscorer in MLS on 13 goals. Now, he has played a couple more games than Messi, but the Belgian is putting up some seriously impressive numbers and averaging over a goal every 90 minutes.

If only Liverpool had gotten something similar...

Christian Benteke at Liverpool

Benteke was a very interesting signing for Liverpool back in 2015. It was on the back of an alarmingly poor season in front of goal, that saw the Reds completely fail to replace Luis Suarez.

But at £32m he was a gamble - and one that the likes of Michael Edwards didn't particularly want to take. Manager Brendan Rodgers, however, pushed for the signing as he felt the team needed a target man to help up top.

He'd been persuaded to sign Mario Balotelli the summer before and that failure meant he was granted his wish for Benteke. Rodgers eventually got his way by demanding the Belgian if he also accepted the club's preferred signing: Roberto Firmino (per the Independent).

Benteke, however, struggled for form and once Jurgen Klopp took over, he was out of the side. He finished his sole season at Anfield with just 10 goals in all competitions and was quickly sold to Crystal Palace after just one season.

A poor fit, in all truth, and a signing that ultimately strengthened the position of Edwards and co.