Nissan have teamed up with Loughborough University to find out what makes football so exciting for fans

British men find watching Lionel Messi more exciting than any other players in the Uefa Champions League, according to a survey by Nissan as part of their Excitement Index.

64% of Brits stated they found Messi exciting to watch with Barcelona team-mate Luis Suarez (47%) coming second and Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo (25%) coming third.

British fans are also looking forward to Leicester City's imminent debut season in next season's Uefa Champions League.

22% of Brits claimed they find Leicester exciting to watch, ranking them above the last two season's beaten finalists, Atletico Madrid and Juventus!

Moving away from the pitch slightly, British men get more excited about watching football than having sex.

56% of men in Britain stated watching their favourite team provides them with more excitement than getting intimate with their loved ones.

When asked to rate the two aspects of their lives they found most exciting, nearly one in three (30%) chose their football club, compared to less than one in five (16%) who chose their job.

The research also identified 58% of Brits see the Uefa Champions League final as the event they most look forward to, with 23% keeping the date of the final free in their diary each year.

The study was commissioned by Nissan as part of the Nissan Excitement Index, which aims to explore the science behind football fan excitement ahead of this year’s Champions League Final in Milan.

More than 5,000 people in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain were surveyed last month.

The car manufacturer has now teamed up with sports science experts at Loughborough University to understand the science behind what makes football so exciting.