When I was growing up in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, I sold doughnuts, popcorn and Kool Aid every day after school so that my family had some money and I could pay my school fees. It was a tough life.

He is a member of the Kru ethnic group which hails from south-eastern Liberia's Grand Kru County one of the poorest areas of the country. The other four recipients were: Lothar Matthaus '91 Marco Van Basten '92 Roberto Baggio '93 and Romario in '94. Timothy is determined to follow in his father's footsteps and he was given the opportunity to train with Chelsea's youth academy.

In 1995 he was named FIFA World Player of the Year European Footballer of the Year and African Footballer of the Year. In the 2011 election he ran for vice president on Winston Tubman's ticket.