Benfica Secures Duran on Loan: €6.1m with €30m Buy Option

Benfica have made their move up front, officially landing Colombian striker Duran from Al-Nassr on a season-long loan for the 2026-27 campaign – and they have not hidden the numbers.

The Lisbon club will pay €6.1 million for the loan, with an option to buy set at €30m at the end of the season. It is a serious financial commitment, and a clear signal that Benfica see the 22-year-old as more than a short-term patch.

“Biggest club in Portugal”

Duran arrived talking like a man who knows the size of the stage he has just stepped onto.

“I’m very grateful to God, just as I said when I arrived,” he said. “I’m happy! I still say that it’s the biggest club in Portugal. I’m very grateful to be here. I have very high expectations for my time here. I want to play well, give it my all, and become a champion.”

No cautious language, no talk of adaptation periods. He wants impact, now.

The Colombian has promised work as much as words. “I want to work hard and help my team,” he added, underlining the message Benfica fans always want to hear from a new No 9: effort first, goals to follow.

A fast-track career

Duran’s rise has been sharp. He first broke through at Envigado, one of Colombia’s most productive talent factories, before earning his move to MLS with Chicago Fire. His performances there pushed him quickly into the European spotlight.

Aston Villa took the plunge in January 2023, bringing him into the Premier League and raising his profile again. Al-Nassr then went big, signing him in a deal worth €77m, a figure that underlined how highly he is rated in the market.

The path since has not been straightforward. Loan spells at Fenerbahce and Zenit followed, each stop adding experience but also posing the same question: where would Duran truly settle and lead the line?

Now the answer might be Lisbon.

European return, big expectations

Back in Europe with Benfica, Duran walks into a club that demands titles and deep runs in Europe every season. The price of the loan, and the €30m option, put him firmly in the spotlight.

At 22, he does not arrive as a project. He arrives as a striker expected to decide games.

He also brings international pedigree. Duran already has 17 caps and three goals for Colombia, experience that should help him handle the pressure of playing in front of a demanding crowd at Estádio da Luz.

Benfica have paid to find out whether this is the season Duran finally turns potential into dominance. Now it is down to him to make sure that €30m option stops looking like a gamble and starts looking like a bargain.