Jhon Duran was left 'confused' about following strict Saudi Arabia law which Cristiano Ronaldo was allowed to bypass

Jhon Duran was reportedly left confused by a strict Saudi Arabian law following his move from Aston Villa to Al Nassr.

Duran, 21, joined Al Nassr for a reported £65m fee back in January and has already earned an estimated €8.17m (around £7m) for his efforts in the Middle East.

However, he was said to be left baffled by the country’s laws when he traded life in England for a new adventure in the Gulf state.

As reported by The Sun back in February, Duran was supposedly planning a 600-mile commute from Bahrain to Al Nassr, who are based in the city of Riyadh.

Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson also chose to live in Bahrain during their time at Al-Ettifaq.

Jhon Duran in action for Al Nassr (Credit:Getty)

However, Al-Ettifaq’s training facility is around an hour’s drive from Bahrain, while Al Nassr’s is around 300 miles away, meaning a scheduled flight lasting one hour and 20 minutes is required.

The reason for the long commute is down to Saudi Arabia’s strict cohabitation laws, which state that a couple must be married to live together, but Duran and his partner are not.

Private landlords have been known to ask for proof of marriage before renting out properties, and the country only allowed unmarried foreign couples to rent hotel rooms together in 2019 as part of the nation’s efforts to grow tourism.

Other recent changes include ending a ban on female drivers and allowing females to travel abroad without a male guardian’s permission.

However, not everyone is required to follow the cohabitation laws. Duran’s Al Nassr teammate Cristiano Ronaldo was given ‘special permission’ to live with his girlfriend, Georgina Rodríguez, after local authorities are said to have ‘turned a blind eye’ to the situation.

Jhon Duran and Cristiano Ronaldo are Al Nassr teammates (Credit:Getty)

Ronaldo, who recently penned a new two-year deal at Al Nassr worth upwards of £492m, will continue living with Rodriguez in the country despite it going against Saudi law.

An anonymous lawyer told EFE, as per SPORT: "Although the laws of the kingdom still prohibit cohabitation without a marriage contract, the authorities have recently started to turn a blind eye and no longer prosecute anyone.

"Although these laws are used when there is a problem or a crime.”