For some reason he failed under Mourinho: “I’m already rich, I don’t need to run”
John Duran22 years old, is now living a new stage in the Benficabut his career has taken many turns since he landed in Europe. The Colombian arrived at Aston Villa He came from the MLS and there he made the definitive leap to the elite, becoming one of the great promises of Colombian soccer. However, since January 2025 he has already played for four other teams.
Aston Villa was Durán’s great showcase in Europe. He arrived from Chicago Fire in January 2023 and grew until he signed a spectacular final stretch in 2024. At the end of that year he had already scored 12 goals and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr ended up paying 77 million euros for him in January 2025. Since then he has played for the Saudi club, Fenerbahçe, Zenit and now Benfica, where he is on loan from Al-Nassr until the end of the season 2026/27.
Fred, who coincided with him at Fenerbahçe under José Mourinho, has now revealed in a podcast talk some of the conversations he had with the Colombian: “I’m already rich, I don’t need to run.” We told him to go train and he answered that. Then he went to the infirmary.” “When he went to Zenit I told him that he would earn more money and he replied: ‘The more, the better.'”
The Brazilian also referred to the contract that Durán signed with Al-Nassr after leaving Aston Villa and did not fall short: “The contract they gave him at Al-Nassr was surreal. He already bought the whole of Colombia.” A few words that once again put the focus on a forward who, at just 22 years old, has gone from being one of the Premier League’s great appearances to a chain of four destinations since leaving Villa Park. Time to be the player that, due to quality, he can certainly be.
