Lionel Messi and his teammate Kylian Mbappe have been named in TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people for 2023.
TIME Magazine released its annual list of most influential people in the world recently with both Messi and Mbappé making the list.
Lionel Messi, Argentina captain, and his PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe of France were among the six sports-persons who were named in the magazine.
Argentina and France were the finalists in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and they both put up quite a show in the match.
The match finished in Argentina’s favor as they beat France in the penalty shootout to win the World Cup title.
TIME reaches a combined readership of more than 100 million people worldwide via its digital channels and magazines.
Lionel Messi
Aside from that, the PSG star also won the tournament’s Golden Ball, given to the World Cup’s best player.
The former Barcelona man can add that to seven Ballon d’Or trophies — given to the best player in the world for that calendar year — four Champions League titles and more than 100 goals scored while representing Argentina.
Aside from Cristiano Ronaldo, no football star has been a bigger icon in their home country than the man Lionel Messi.
Even at the age of 35, the 7-time Balon d’Or winner continues to draw attention and might be one of the most recognizable athletes in the world.
Kylian Mbappe
Mbappe is arguably the fastest footballer that is aged 24 years in the world now and he is getting better every day.
The Frenchman has been on the list of FIFA and football’s most-awarded individual and have proved himself to be one of the best in the world.
Despite losing to Argentina in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, he showed his prowess by scoring half of France’s goals and led them to the finals.
The PSG forward scored a hat trick in the Final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup that was held last December in Qatar.
He scored two goals in the match against Argentina to keep his team in the match at 90 minutes then scored one more in the extra time.
His eight goals in the tournament were the most scored by a single player in the World Cup since Brazil’s Ronaldo de Lima in 2002.
Mbappe is currently tied with Brazilain Legend Pele with 12 World Cup goals and needs just 4 more to match Germany’s Miroslav Klose’s record.
With his dominance in the final – which France, unfortunately, lost despite his efforts – he has shown that he is a player who can take on any game even on the biggest stage.
