Ex-Real Madrid footballer Nicholas Anelka said the new generation was robbed by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. "All young people [who] identified with Ronaldo and Messi wanted to start playing either on the left or right...There are fewer...[number nine] attackers nowadays," he added. Anelka stated that Messi and Ronaldo's careers are over. "Both of them should've been smarter," he said.