Gilberto Mora turns 18 next week, and Liverpool have reportedly bid more than $50 million for him
TUDN’s David Faitelson says the offer to Club Tijuana would be a record for a Mexican player, though neither club has confirmed it.
Oct 7, 2026
Gilberto Mora turns 18 on October 14, and that date matters more than most birthdays. FIFA’s rules stop clubs signing players from abroad until they are 18, and according to TUDN’s David Faitelson, Liverpool have not waited for it. Faitelson reported this week that the club have made an offer of more than $50 million to Club Tijuana for the attacking midfielder.
“There is an offer from an English club, in this case Liverpool, for a historic figure of more than 50 million dollars,” Faitelson said on TUDN, citing people in Tijuana. Neither Liverpool nor Tijuana has confirmed a bid. Mora’s agent, Rafaela Pimenta, who also represents Erling Haaland, told RÉCORD on Tuesday that she does not comment on transfer rumours.
Why the number would be a record
No Mexican player has been sold for that much. The record is still Hirving Lozano’s move from PSV Eindhoven to Napoli in 2019, reported at about €42 million, and a fee above $50 million would put Mora past it before he has played a game in Europe.
The interest is not new. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Arsenal have all been linked with him, and Liverpool’s name started coming up at the start of this month. What is new is a figure on the table, if Faitelson’s sources are right.
The World Cup made his name
Mora was the youngest player at the World Cup in the summer, and his first appearance made him the youngest man to play for Mexico at a World Cup, breaking a record that had stood since 1930. Javier Aguirre then started him in the round-of-32 tie against Ecuador at 17 years and 259 days. Only Pelé, in 1958, had started a World Cup knockout match younger.
A missing name in Glendale
Faitelson also pointed to Mora’s absence from Mexico’s friendly against the United States on Saturday, which Mexico lost 3-0 in Glendale. He did not think Rafael Márquez would risk him in a physical game in the middle of negotiations. “For me, the fact that Mora did not play on Saturday is a sign that the deal is moving,” he said. That is one journalist’s reading, not an explanation from the Mexican federation, but it fits the timing.
Even if a fee is agreed, nothing can be signed until his birthday, and the earliest he could join Liverpool is the January window. For a fee that size, a three-month wait is a small detail.