Superagent issues emphatic response to €40m Liverpool signing rumours

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Tom Weber | Writer

Liverpool have been strongly linked with a move for Tijuana wonderkid Gilberto Mora, which has now prompted an equally strong response from his agent Rafaela Pimenta.

The Mexico international turned 18 on Wednesday and is now officially eligible to move to Europe. In recent weeks, rumours surrounding a possible big-money transfer, potentially as early as January, have gone into overdrive.

On an almost daily basis, various Mexican journalists and media outlets have made increasingly sensational - and at times contradictory - claims about Mora's future. The media spotlight is understandable given that he is his country's great hope for the future.

Mora has been a senior international since age 16 and was the youngest player at this summer's World Cup. He has already racked up 62 first-team appearances for Tijuana and was handed a "historic" contract this summer.

However, all this speculation is making it difficult to ascertain what exactly is going on. Discussions are surely taking place with various European giants, but how advanced are they really?

Pimenta responds to Liverpool links

Mora has been linked with the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid for years, and his compatriot Raul Jimenez believes that LaLiga would be a better fit for the diminutive playmaker than the Premier League, but in recent weeks, Liverpool have ostensibly become his strongest suitors.

Mexican media recently claimed that the Reds had made an offer north of €40 million for Mora, which raised eyebrows because reports in Spain suggested the week prior that his release clause stands at just €25m.

Tijuana confirmed that his contract contains an exit mechanism when they announced his new deal this summer, but they did not disclose how much money is required to prise him away.

Some reports have gone so far as to suggest that the teenager already has an agreement with an unnamed European club, while it has also been asserted that Mora was rested in the recent international break after picking up a minor knock so as not to jeopardise a transfer.

All of this rumour-mongering has now prompted Mora's representative, superagent Rafaela Pimenta, to respond. Clearly annoyed by the ceaseless speculation, she emphatically denied claims of an agreement while speaking to TNT Sports Mexico.

"I accepted this interview to answer the question because I've been seeing it in several places," she began. "We know that the FIFA transfer window is closed, so there are no transfers until January, and then again until June.

"There are so many rumours that it seems like you want to ruin this young player, someone who is growing and needs his space, his time and doesn't need pressure.

"Everything will come, everything will arrive, everything will happen as we think and as we planned, but on his birthday we're only going to think about celebrating his life, his coming of age, his past and his future, which for me is what's important."

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