More Goals, More Cash: Inside Soccer's Shift to All-Out Attack

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More Goals, More Cash: Inside Soccer's Shift to All-Out Attack originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Wild scorelines. Record-breaking seasons. Huge transfer fees for goalscorers. The modern emphasis on attacking football is exploding - and it's not by accident.
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Spain recently beat France 5-4 in the Nations League; Belgium beat Wales 4-3 in a World Cup qualifier; Inter Milan and Barcelona shared 13 goals between them in the Champions League semi-final; followed by that 5-0 PSG victory in the final.
Goal-scoring records broken in EPL
Everywhere you look there are crazier games and more goals. In the last three English Premier League campaigns the record has been broken twice for the most goals scored in a 38-game season. There were 1,091 goals in 2024/25 and 1,246 in 2023/24.
In Spain's La Liga, the last two seasons have produced about 50 more goals than the previous three seasons. This isn't a coincidence - it's strategic.
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Why is this? Does it reflect a shifting of managerial tactics? A natural evolution of the game? An increased desire to entertain the fans? Or perhaps it's something more fundamental that connects all of these things. Money.
Yamal vs Cubarsí
Per transfermarkt, 19 of the top 25 most valuable players in the world are either forwards, wingers or attacking midfielders. The other six are central midfielders. You have to go down to 27th place on the list to find the first defender.
Of course to a certain extent it's always been like this, with defenders undervalued compared to the headline-grabbing goal-scorers.
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There's a strong argument that Virgil Van Dijk should have won player of the year in the EPL for his imperious defending and leadership skills. But Salah gets the goals and assists so he gets to wear the crown. There's a reason they call him the Egyptian king besides the fact that it rhymes with 'running down the wing'.
Pau Cubarsí is about the same age as Lamine Yamal. He played the same number of games for Barcelona this year in their title-winning season. He has a 95% passing accuracy score vs 79% for Yamal. His manager described his ability as "incredible...world class...insane."
Related: Yamal skyrockets to 180 million value after Champions League breakout
But you'd be forgiven for having barely heard of him. Because he's a defender. He's also the one who is 27th on that list of most valuable players in the world.
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On the pitch, defenders are just as valuable as the attackers - arguably more so. But off it that's not remotely true when you put an actual financial value on it.
And this game increasingly is all about money. In order to survive and thrive clubs need to develop and promote their attacking players who are worth much more in the transfer market.
Why Mourinho can't get a top job these days
Chairmen are picking attack minded coaches to run their teams. The coaches are encouraged to play on the front foot in order to enhance the value of forwards, entertain the fans so they can sell more tickets, while juicing the value of the TV rights.
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Why do you think José Mourinho can't get a decent managerial gig these days? He's one of the most successful managers of all time...but he's also one of the most defensive-minded. And that's no good for the bottom line.
We are living in an era of extreme emphasis on attackers and goals enhanced by the age of Social Media. Let's face it, not many people are posting video shorts of a great defensive block.
Attacking football pays. Follow the money.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.