Only TWO footballers in Time's 100 most influential people

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 14 Apr 2023 13:22 BST
• 3 min read

TIME Magazine has published its list of the 100 most influential people of 2023 with only two football players included: Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi.

Time has organised the list since 1999, and it is now a highly publicised annual global event, with Chinese leader Xi Jinping making the 100 the most times since its inception with 13 entries.

Sports stars tend to feature less prominently - basketball legend LeBron James has had the most nominations with four - but this year's list is unique in that both footballers listed play for Paris Saint-Germain.

READ: Barcelona fans DEMAND Messi signing

Messi and Mbappe have combined for 50 goals and 26 assists for PSG this season, but it is their performances with their countries - Argentina and France respectively - that have really caught the eye.

Messi hit seven goals and three assists as Argentina won the World Cup in December, while Mbappe had scored eight in Qatar, including a hat-trick for France in the final, which they lost on penalties.

Praise from a legend

"Argentina's World Cup victory was magnificent," Roger Federer wrote of Messi's achievements.

"Millions of fans taking to the streets of Buenos Aires to celebrate was an amazing moment in sports, witnessed around the world. Even those who don't follow football must have realised the true impact of the world's most popular game."

READ: Mbappe makes Real Madrid future clear with Champions League comment

"When Mbappe weighed a nine-figure transfer from Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid last year, [French president Emmanuel] Macron called and begged him to stay for the sake of France," Time's Paris correspondent Vivienne Walt said in testament of Mbappe's influence.

Despite their successes on and off the field, both Messi and Mbappe have uncertain futures at club level.

Messi is out of contract with PSG at the end of this season and former club Barcelona are working hard to finance his return to the club while Al-Hilal have offered him €400 million a year to join Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia.

Mbappe recently insisted he wants to stay and win the Champions League with PSG, but speculation that a Real Madrid transfer could be reignited persists.