The Best Attacker Isn’t Always the Best Choice

I think football fans have a problem with the way we judge attackers.

We always ask: Who scores more? Who is better 1v1? Who has more goals and assists? Who is more talented?

But there’s another question that matters just as much:

Who helps my team win?

Because the best attacker on paper isn’t always the best attacker for your team.

Look at teams that play with a really high defensive line. Their defenders can literally be standing in the opponent’s half. That sounds great when you have the ball, but the second you lose it, you’re exposed.

And that’s where your attackers become the first line of defence.

They have to press. They have to close passing lanes. They have to force the opponent backwards or make him play quickly. And most importantly, they have to react immediately when the ball is lost.

You don’t always need to win the ball back.

Sometimes just forcing the opponent to play backwards is enough.

Because if your front three do their job, your defenders have time to push up again and the opponent never gets the chance to attack the space behind you.

That’s why I find the Raphinha and Dembélé type of attacker so interesting.

And this is where Mbappé and Vini come into the conversation.

Obviously, if you ask me who is the better individual attacker, I’m probably taking Mbappé over Raphinha. I’m probably taking Vini over Dembélé too.

But that’s not really the point.

The point is: what do I need from my attackers?

Because if I want to dominate games, defend high and press aggressively, defensive work from the front three becomes extremely important.

And the numbers from 25/26 make this even more interesting.

According to FotMob, Mbappé had just 0.2 defensive contributions per 90 minutes in La Liga.

That was the lowest number in the entire league: 344th out of 344 players.

Vini wasn't much higher either, with 1.0 per 90, ranking 336th.

Raphinha was at 2.1 per 90.

Obviously, this stat doesn't tell you who is the better footballer. It doesn't measure every single press, movement or tactical decision.

But it does show something.

If I'm building a team where the forwards are supposed to be part of the defensive structure, I might value what Raphinha gives me more than what Mbappé gives me.

Not because Raphinha is a better player.

Because he might be a better fit for what I’m trying to do.

And that's the whole point.

Football isn't FIFA.

You can't just put the five most talented attackers on the pitch and expect everything to work.

Sometimes a player who is slightly less talented individually makes the whole team better.

And this is also why I like the Ferran example.

Nobody is going to tell you Ferran is a better player than Julián.

But in the 25/26 La Liga season, Ferran scored 16 goals, while Julián scored 8.

That's literally double.

Does that mean Ferran is twice the player?

Obviously not.

It means context matters.

Put a player in a team where his movements, his positioning and the way the team creates chances fit him perfectly, and suddenly you can get a completely different version of that player.

That's what people sometimes forget.

Players don't exist separately from the system.

The same player can look incredible in one team and average in another.

And this is why I don't really care about finding the "best" attacker.

I care about finding the attacker who gives me what my team needs.

And if my goal is to create a winning team, I would rather have an attacker who presses, reacts after losing the ball, protects my high line and still gives me goals than a superstar who gives me more individually but doesn't fit the structure as well.

And then there’s the trophy argument.

Since Mbappé left, PSG have gone from being a team that constantly got stuck short of the Champions League to winning it — and then winning it again.

Meanwhile, Real haven't won a major trophy in Mbappé's first season under the new cycle.

That obviously doesn't mean "Mbappé is the reason Real don't win."

Football doesn't work like that.

But it does reinforce the bigger point:

You don't win because you have the best players. You win because the players fit together.

So if you ask me:

"Who would you rather have individually?"

Maybe Mbappé and Vini.

But if you ask me:

"You're building a team today. You want to dominate, defend high, press aggressively and create a winning context. Who are you taking?"

I'm taking Dembélé and Raphinha.

Not because they're better.

Because they're better for what I want to build.

And that's the difference between signing the best player...

and building the best team.