Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, playing for Charlton Athletic against his former club Chelsea in a Premier League match in 2007. (EPA Images pic)KUALA LUMPUR: Football has seen a decline in traditional centre-forwards because the rise of footballing greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo made young footballers choose to be wingers, says former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
"You don't see big strikers coming out like before. Now, why is that? My reason is because of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Ronaldo plays on the wing. Messi plays on the wing.
“Our children, what do they want to be? Who do they see on television? They want to be Ronaldo or Messi. So, where do they want to play? They want to play on the wing. So majority of players who are coming up, they wanted to play like Messi,” said Hasselbaink at a Chelsea fan event here this weekend featuring meet-and-greet sessions and a watch party for Chelsea's Premier League clash against Manchester United tomorrow.
