The wives and girlfriends of the players are much hotter than in any other sport; much hotter.
It is also one of the few sports where height has advantages that may be offset by short, very athletic players.
Lionel Messi at 5’7” is clearly one of the best athletes in the world; and, by the time he is finished may be considered one of the top 2-5 players of all time.
At the highest level, soccer is a very exciting sport when a score can be made at any time. I love basketball, but I’m old enough now that I rarely watch much of any one game; not even the NBA finals. Catch the last five minutes of a game, and you see all you need to see.
Messi is as far as my old man is considered already the best player to have played the game, and he has followed soccer since the 60’s -so including your peles and your Maradonas.