LONDON: Liverpool and Egypt striker Mohamed Salah has been named in Time magazine鈥檚 100 most influential people of 2019.
The star footballer was listed within the 鈥淭itans鈥� section of the list 鈥� which includes a record 48 women 鈥� and was championed by British comedian and US TV host John Oliver.
Oliver said of the Egyptian: 鈥淢ohamed Salah is a better human being than he is a football player. And he鈥檚 one of the best football players in the world.
鈥淢o is an iconic figure for Egyptians, Scousers and Muslims the world over, and yet he always comes across as a humble, thoughtful, funny man who isn鈥檛 taking any of this too seriously.鈥�
Also in the 鈥淭itans鈥� section were fellow sport stars LeBron James and Tiger Woods. The darling of women鈥檚 tennis Naomi Osaka was also in the list.
Salah is joined by fellow Arab and Muslim celebrities such as Rami Malek and Mahershala Ali, as well as Abu Dhabi鈥檚 Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
Various world leaders have been named in 2019鈥檚 list 鈥� including US President Donald Trump, China鈥檚 Xi Jinping, Pope Francis, Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, New Zealand鈥檚 PM Jacinda Ardern, as well as the prime ministers of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed.
Time Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal wrote of the list: 鈥淲e all have teachers, some we know intimately, others who inspire from the page or the screen. This holds true even for the most accomplished people on earth.
鈥淥ur annual Time 100 issue is filled with tributes from teachers to students; in many cases, the surprise is who is playing which role today.鈥�