Barcelona battle Real Madrid for €25m signing two years in the making

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Tom Weber | Writer

The race to sign Tijuana sensation Gilberto Mora is heating up, with Barcelona and Real Madrid at the front of the queue for Mexico's very own Lamine Yamal.

In less than one month, Mora will turn 18. In the world of football, this means that he will, at last, be able to complete the blockbuster transfer to Europe that has been expected since he burst onto the scene at Xolos as a 15-year-old.

Mora has enjoyed a remarkable rise in recent years. He has already made 62 senior appearances for Tijuana and 13 for Mexico. He started last year's Gold Cup final as a 16-year-old and featured four times at this summer's World Cup as the tournament's youngest player.

At the weekend, he finally bagged his first goal for El Tri with a brilliant finish against Colombia. In doing so, he became his country's youngest-ever goalscorer, adding another record to his already impressive collection.

Naturally, then, with his birthday coming up, speculation over his future is increasing. Mora is being courted by Europe's biggest clubs, and two giants in particular are pushing hard to secure his signature.

El Clasico battle for Mora

According to MARCA, and also confirmed by various other Spanish outlets, Barcelona and Real Madrid are going head-to-head for the signing of the teenage prodigy, who was recently compared to Lamine Yamal by new Mexico boss Rafa Marquez.

The interest from Spain's biggest hitters isn't new, however. Barcelona have been on Mora's case for two years, with credible reports of their interest first emerging in 2024. They have been tracking him ever since.

Both Barcelona and Real Madrid are determined to snap up the brightest prospects in world football, as evidenced by their current battle for the signing of Man Utd wonderkid JJ Gabriel. Mora is a similarly generational talent.

Shortly before the World Cup started, Tijuana announced that they had handed Mora a "historic" new contract to reflect his impressive development and importance to the club.

At the same time, Xolos made no secret of the fact that they know Mora will be heading to Europe, likely as early as 2027. They confirmed that the deal contains an exit mechanism that allows him to do exactly that.

It is now being claimed that the youngster has a release clause for a fee in the region of €25 million. The interesting part of this "exit mechanism" is that it can't be triggered by other Mexican teams, so Mora is definitely heading to Europe. Anything else would have been a major shock.

In addition to Barcelona and Real Madrid, clubs like Borussia Dortmund and Benfica are also courting Mora. There have also been links with the likes of Man Utd and other Premier League heavyweights as well, although it is perhaps not far-fetched to suggest that the diminutive playmaker might struggle in England.

Interestingly, Spanish media suggests that while a January transfer is "likely," it is not guaranteed. No decision on a move has been made as yet, and the youngster could opt to wait until the summer when he could have an even larger pool of suitors to choose from.

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