Cristian Benavente Bristol (born 19 May 1994) is a Peruvian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Sporting Cristal. Born in Spain, he played for the Peru national team.
Club career
Real Madrid Born in Alcalá de Henares, to Peruvian parents of Quechua descent. Benavente joined Real Madrid's youth system in 2002, aged 8. In the 2013 summer, while still a junior, he was named to Real Madrid Castilla's pre-season squad for the 2012–13 season. In the same campaign he also was Juvenil A topscorer, netting 18 goals.
In July 2013, Benavente was promoted to Castilla,Cristian Benavente fue promovido a Real Madrid Castilla (Cristian Benavente was promoted to Real Madrid Castilla) ; Libero, 12 July 2013 and made his professional debut on 24 August, playing the last 11 minutes of a 0–1 home loss against AD Alcorcón, in the Segunda División championship.El Castilla evidencia su falta de efectivos (Castilla evidences their lack of establishment); Marca, 24 August 2013
Milton Keynes Dons On 17 July 2015, Benavente joined English Championship club Milton Keynes Dons, signing a two-year deal on a free transfer. On 11 August 2015, Benavente made his debut in a 2–1 League Cup first round win over Leyton Orient. On 5 January 2016, following limited first team opportunities, Benavente was released from the club.
Charleroi Benavente then signed for Belgian club Charleroi in 2016.
Pyramids In January 2019, he moved to Egyptian club Pyramids FC.
Nantes In August 2019, he was loaned to French club FC Nantes
Royal Antwerp In October 2020, he was loaned out to Belgian side Royal Antwerp On 31 January 2021, Benavente left Royal Antwerp, due to a lack of playing time.
Charleroi On 1 February 2021, Benavente moved to Belgium club Charleroi, on a loan deal with an option to buy.
Alianza Lima On 2 February 2022, Benavente was signed for Peruvian club Alianza Lima, signing a one-year contract. He scored a free kick in his debut.
Later career On 4 January 2024, Benanvente joined Universidad César Vallejo after a year of inactivity due to a knee injury. On 26 December, he was loaned out to Sport Boys, after Universidad César Vallejo was relegated.
On 14 February 2025, Benavente joined Romanian club Gloria Buzău on a short term contract until the end of the season. On 8 August, he returned to Perú, joining Sporting Cristal and signing a contract until December 2026.
International career After appearing with the under-17 and under-20 teams, Benavente made his full squad debut on 18 April 2013, as a half-time substitute in a 0–0 friendly draw against Mexico at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.International friendly: Peru 0 Mexico 0; Global Sports Media, 18 April 2013 He scored his first international goal on 1 June 2013, the winner in a 2–1 victory over Panama.Perú venció 2–1 a Panamá con goles de Yordy Reyna y Cristian Benavente (Peru defeats Panama by 2–1 with goals from Yordy Reyna and Cristian Benavente) ; Libero, 1 June 2013
Personal life His mother, Magali Bristol, was a retired volleyball player for Peru's U15 and U20 teams, and is a part owner of Zest nightclub in Ipswich.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsReal Madrid Castilla2013–14Segunda División80——802014–15Segunda División B253——253Total333——333Milton Keynes Dons2015–16Championship20—3050Charleroi2015–16Belgian Pro League92—201122016–17Belgian First Division A19232622862017–18Belgian First Division A278329139112018–19Belgian First Division A22921—2410Total77218517310229Pyramids2018–19Egyptian Premier League123——123Nantes (loan)2019–20Ligue 11200010130Antwerp (loan)2020–21Belgian First Division A92—60152Charleroi (loan)2020–21Belgian First Division A3020—50Alianza Lima2022Peruvian Primera División266—40306Universidad César Vallejo2024Peruvian Primera División50—3080Sport Boys (loan)2024Peruvian Primera División80——80Gloria Buzău2024–25Liga I90——90Sporting Cristal2025Peruvian Primera División111——1112026Peruvian Primera División20—1030Total1310010141Career total1632912518319437
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsPeru201341201440201510201651201700201840201910Total192
Scores and results list Peru' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Benavente goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Cristian BenaventeNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 1 June 2013 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama 2–1 2–1 Friendly2 23 May 2016 Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru 4–0 4–0 Friendly
References
External links
La Preferente