Record seven-time Ballon D’or winner Lionel Messi has been named on time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2023.

The annual list which features some of the most iconic names globally in sport, entertainment, politics, current affairs and science and technology was divided into 6 sub categories……..artists, icons, pioneers, leaders, titans and innovators.

Messi who is also the winner of the 2022 FIFA the best men’s player award was named among the titans after leading his native Argentina to its third Fifa World Cup title in December with victory over France in Qatar.

Also included in the titans category which features the likes of Beyonce and Elon musk was two-time NFL Mvp Patrick Mahomes…..the superstar quarterback who led the Kansas City Chiefs to victory in super bowl 57 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The list of athletes on time’s 100 most influential people of 2023 is completed by France and PSG forward Kylian Mbappé , top ranked women’s tennis player Iga Swiatek, two-time Olympic gold medal winning skier Mikaela Shiffrin and WNBA all-star Brittney Griner who spent nearly 10 months in a Russian prison after being found with cannabis oil in her luggage at a Moscow airport.