Jhon Durán was justified in leaving Aston Villa for Al-Nassr in the January transfer window as he could end up becoming the next Cristiano Ronaldo.
That’s according to former Colombian striker Dayro Moreno, who has been chatting to DSports, relayed by AS Colombia.
Durán moved to the Saudi side at the end of the transfer window earlier this month, joining in a €77m deal after they had moved for both him and Victor Boniface.
Aston Villa reluctantly accepted as they considered the deal too good to turn down and Durán pushed for a move which saw him increase his wages to £16.7m annually.
He’s been roundly criticised for making the switch, with many believing he has passed up any footballing ambition in favour of the money.
There’s been something of a fight-back on that angle from Colombia since, with various personalities insisting that he was right to leave Aston Villa and take the big financial pay-day when it was available.
Now Moreno has added his opinion to the mix and he’s defending the transfer from a sporting point of view, believing that Durán can become the next Cristiano Ronaldo, who he’ll be playing alongside at Al-Nassr.
“These are personal things for him, we respect his decision. If he made that decision, it was for himself, for his family. The important thing is that he comes when he is called to score goals because we need him in the Colombian National Team,” he said.
“I think that Cristiano’s situation also influences the decision, being next to such an animal who is so important at a world level.
“One would learn a lot from him, the important thing is that Duran takes good advice, Cristiano’s tactics, so that, between now and tomorrow, he can become a Cristiano Ronaldo too.”
