Mo Salah hits the red carpet at Time 100 Gala

Piece by: Uncle Chim Tuna
Entertainment

Mohamed Salah joined Hollywood stars and political heavyweights for the Time 100 Gala in New York after he was named one of the world's most influential people by the US magazine.

The Liverpool forward rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names in music, film and television at the red-carpet event after being chosen as one of six cover stars for the magazine's annual issue.

The 26-year-old shared his cover image on Instagram when the announcement was made, saying he was 'honoured' to have made the 2019 list as one of its 'titans'.

'Always ready to help make the world a better place,' he added in the caption.

In his interview with the magazine, he discussed the importance of women's equality.

'We need to change the way we treat women in our culture,' the Egyptian international told Time.

'I support the women more than I did before, because I feel like they deserve more than what they're given at the moment.

'That has to be, it's not optional,' he added.

Salah was joined by an array of stars from numerous fields, including Taylor Swift, Jimmy Fallon, Brie Larson, Naomi Campbell and Dwayne Johnson.

In a piece for Time, British comedian and Liverpool fan John Oliver said he 'absolutely' loved the footballer.

'Mo Salah is a better human being than he is a football player. And he's one of the best football players in the world,' he wrote.

Salah received the Premier League Golden Boot during a stand-out 2017-18 campaign and has so far scored 19 goals for Jurgen Klopp's table-toppers this season.

He was named this year's Confederation of African Football's Player of the Year, having also picked up the trophy in 2018, and he was named both the PFA Players' Player of the Year and the Football Writers' Association's Footballer of the Year last year. The five other magazine cover stars are Nancy Pelosi, Gayle King, Dwayne Johnson, Sandra Oh and Taylor Swift.

With Liverpool playing Huddersfield at home on Friday, there will be a quick turnaround for the Egyptian to get back and prepare.

But he's been afforded plenty of leeway by Jurgen Klopp, who said the forward is fully deserving of the recognition coming his way.

'He's in the middle of the dressing room, he's sensationally good with all the boys and he is very influential for us,' Klopp previously said.

'And if somebody thinks he is influential for the rest of the world as well then good, show it.

'I don't know exactly when the meeting will be (with TIME magazine) but he will go there because it's an important statement for the world.'