Jhon Duran's mentor give honest take on controversial decision to ditch Aston Villa for Al Nassr

Jhon Duran's former manager has made his feelings clear on the striker's controversial decision to leave Aston Villa for Al Nassr.

Duran, 21, gave up the opportunity to play in the Champions League knockout rounds with Aston Villa to move to the Saudi Pro League midway through the season.

The Colombia international joined Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £64m plus add-ons, after scoring 12 goals from 29 games this season.

He made his debut for his new club on Monday in a 4–0 win against UAE Pro League club Al Wasl in the AFC Champions League, with Saudi meeting reports comparing his performance to that of Ronaldo - who scored twice.

Duran has faced criticism for his decision to leave Villa, with club chief Monchi slamming the quality of the Saudi Pro League compared to the Premier League.

Speaking to Onda Cero's Radioestaido Noche, Monchi said: "The economic potential of Arab football isn't even in the Premier League; it's a significant rival as it attracts signings.

"I believe that the economic level is still not comparable to the competitive level, and for now, this disparity is deterring some players from choosing Europe."

Duran's former manager Alberto Suarez, who coached the striker at his former club Envigado, has since defended the player's decision to move to Saudi Arabia.

"It is stupid to criticise Jhon Duren, nobody gives up €100m. I don't think that in his first days of training in Envigado they talked to him about glory, they talked to him about money. For young people, glory is solving their economic problem," he said [via Sport Witness].

Jhon Duran made his debut for Al Nassr on Monday (Image: Getty)

Duran is set to earn £16.7m a year at Al Nassr after signing a five-year contract but the Colombia international insists his decision to leave Aston Villa was not purely financial.

He told his new club's website: "I am very happy with this step. People speculate, but only my family, my agent and I know why we made these decisions."

Despite increasing his salary fivefold from his time at Villa, Duran also claimed that "money doesn't move me".

He could now make his league debut for Al Nassr when they Al Feiha on Friday.