I always thought he looked A LOT older than his real age and was not aging very well. He looked in his 40s since he was in his 20s it seems. Also, he is not really unique looking. I do believe he hired a massive PR firm to push him and the hype and it worked.
I'm from the UK and never really understood the hype at the time given that there were better footballers around - in terms of both ability and looks.
However, I really have grown to like him over the last few years, mainly because he comes across as quite a classy guy and overcame adversity well (he was absolutely loathed by the British public after World Cup 1998).
Also worth mentioning that if you're from the UK then you are bound to know at least a dozen women who absolutely adore him. Two of my exes when I was a teen had posters of him all over their walls.
