Liverpool are preparing a £40 million bid for Gilberto Mora — and that number clears Tijuana's asking price with room to spare. That's not a small detail. It means the Reds aren't dipping a toe in; they're trying to win this before the auction gets out of hand.
The 17-year-old Tijuana midfielder turned heads at the 2026 World Cup, enough that Jude Bellingham sought him out for a jersey swap after England knocked Mexico out in the round of 16. When a player at that level is tracking you down at the final whistle, your stock is going in one direction.
Who else is in the running
The competition is real. Real Madrid and Barcelona have been monitoring Mora for months. Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain are also circling. For Liverpool to get this done, they'll need to move decisively — Tijuana reportedly wants around £30 million, and the Reds' proposed offer already covers that, which gives them a genuine head start.
Transfermarkt currently values Mora at €25 million, a figure that was already climbing post-tournament. By next summer, when Tijuana believes the window for a sale opens properly, that number will almost certainly be higher. Every club in this race knows that.
Why the move won't happen in January
There are two factors slowing this down. First, the sheer volume of interest makes a winter deal logistically complicated — too many clubs, too much money, too many competing offers to sort through in a short window. Second, Mora doesn't turn 18 until October 14, which under current regulations would restrict an immediate move to Europe anyway.
So this plays out in the summer. Liverpool's £40m posture now is partly about signalling intent — telling Tijuana, and every other club in the mix, that they're the ones willing to pay what it takes.
Whether that's enough against Madrid and Barcelona money is another question entirely. Mora's Transfermarkt valuation sits at €25 million today. By the time the summer window opens, that number won't be the one anyone's negotiating around.
