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Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish thought the fee the Eagles agreed with Liverpool for Christian Benteke was “madness!”

But after seeing the other fees splashed out during the summer transfer window the Palace chief admits that the eventual fee they paid the Reds wasn’t so outrageous.

Palace lodged several bids for Benteke during the summer, but Liverpool held out for an initial £27m, rising to £32m with add ons.

When asked about the size of the fee today Parish said: “I thought it was madness.

“They (the investors) have more money than me!”

Palace’s American investors, Joshua Harris and David Blitzer, ultimately sanctioned the deal and Parish added: “They looked seriously at buying Aston Villa before and so he (Benteke) was a player that was familiar to them and they wanted to do it.

“You do wrap your head around it, but looking at it now (and what has gone on in the transfer window) I don’t think it was outrageous.”