KUALA LUMPUR: Liverpool’s Egyptian star Mohamed Salah has another accolade to himself after he was featured on one of six covers of the Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World.
Fondly known as Mo, Salah was joined on the special covers by musician Taylor Swift, actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, journalist Gayle King, US politician Nancy Pelosi and actress Sandra Oh.
The 26-year-old forward who has been hitting the back of the net on regular basis in his first two season in the Premier League, called upon men in his country and in the Muslim world to treat women with more respect while emphasising the importance of women’s equality.
In an interview with the magazine’s journalist Dan Stewart, Salah said “I think we need to change the way we treat women in our culture. It’s not optional.”
He attributed “his culture and in the Middle East” which had changed the way he thought about gender relations. Salah said he support women more than he did before because he feel that women deserve more than what men give them now.
Liverpool fan and host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, who wrote a short essay on Salah in the magazine, described the star man as a better human being then he is a football player. Oliver added that Salah is one of the best football players in the world.
“You'd be hard-pressed to find a professional athlete in any sport less affected by their success or status than Mo, which is incredible because I can't imagine the kind of pressure that comes with the intensity of adoration he receives.
“Mo 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't taking any of this too seriously,” said the English comedian.
Other sports icons to be featured in the magazine’s list are NBA star LeBron James, golfer Tiger Woods, US soccer star Alex Morgan, tennis player Naomi Osaka, golfer and pro gamer 'Ninja' Richard Tyler Blevins and South African middle distance runner Caster Semenya.
Salah will lead his team on Thursday morning (3am Malaysian time, subject to change) when they face Portugese side FC Porto in the second-leg of the Champions League quarter-final match at Estádio do Dragão in Porto, Portugal.