Argentina skipper Lionel Messi and Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappé of France have been included in the TIME 100 most influential people in 2023.

On Thursday, 13 April TIME released its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world with both Messi and Mbappé making the cut.

They are among the six athletes who made the cut, others are Patrick Mahomes II, Brittney Griner, Iga Swiatek and Mikaela Shiffrin.

The two stars were instrumental for their respective countries at the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup as France and Argentina got to the final.

Messi bagged a brace while Mbappe netted a hat-trick in a thrilling final which ended 3-3 after 120 minutes of football.

Argentina went on to win via penalties to land their third World Cup title.

And in the 2022/23 French Ligue 1 season, the pair have been key for PSG who lead in the league table with eight games left to play.

Other notable names on the TIME 100 include American President Joe Biden, who is on the list for the 6^thtime, more than any other person for this year, Elon Musk, Beyonce, Venus Williams and Michael B. Jordan.

TIME is a 100-year-old global media brand that reaches a combined audience of more than 100 million around the world through its magazine and digital platforms. (The Guardian)