Benfica will pay a 6.1 million euros loan fee for the Colombia international. The agreement also includes a buyout option at the end of the season in the amount of 30 million euros.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Duran expressed his happiness at beginning this new chapter in his career. \u201cI\u2019m very grateful to God, just as I said when I arrived. I\u2019m happy! I still say that it\u2019s the biggest club in Portugal. I\u2019m very grateful to be here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He also expressed great ambition for the future, emphasising his determination to contribute to the team\u2019s success. \u201cI have very high expectations for my time here. I want to play well, give it my all, and become a champion,\u201d Duran stressed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The latest addition to Marco Silva\u2019s squad also assured everyone of his full commitment to daily training, making a promise to Benfica fans, \u201cI want to work hard and help my team.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Duran began his professional career with Envigado, a club that has produced some of the big names in Colombian football, and where he completed his entire youth development. In 2021, he was signed by the MLS\u2019s Chicago Fire FC, where he scored eight goals in 28 games.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
January 2023, to English club Aston Villa, bringing him across the ocean to the Premier League. In his first few months in one of the world\u2019s top leagues, the forward, who was already a Colombian international, played 12 games by the end of the 2022\u201323 season.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
By the end of the 2024 calendar year, he had scored in four consecutive games and reached 12 goals already a career high. That\u2019s when Saudi football stepped in, and Al-Nassr paid 77 million euros to secure a forward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The following season (2025\/26) he returned to Europe, to Turkey, where he arrived on loan from Al-Nassr to Fenerbahce. While playing for Fenerbahce, he won the Turkish Super Cup and scored 5 goals in 21 games before moving to St. Petersburg also on loan from the Saudis to play for Zenit, the club where he finished the 2025\u201326 season.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
By the end of the 2024 calendar year, he had scored in four consecutive games and reached 12 goals already a career high. That\u2019s when Saudi football stepped in, and Al-Nassr paid 77 million euros to secure a forward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
An international since 2022, Duran has earned 17 caps for Colombia, scoring 3 goals. In 2024, he was part of the Cafeteros squad that reached the Copa Am\u00e9rica final. In extra time, Colombia lost 1-0 to Argentina.<\/p>\r\n\r\n