Ranking the top five 2023 Leagues Cup players

The final was an enthralling way to bring the curtain down on a memorable tournament that saw Messi make his debut in the United States.

Now, with the dust settling on the 2023 Leagues Cup, Newbettingsites have picked through the competition and ranked their top five players. There will be no prizes for guessing who number one on the list is.

5. Esteban Andrada (Monterrey)

Andrada was an integral part of a Monterrey side that finished in fourth at the Leagues Cup. While his side were humbled 3-0 by Philadelphia Union in the bronze-medal final, Monterrey were superb across the tournament with goalkeeper Andrada playing his part at the back.

Andrada played in six of his sides outings as they kept three clean sheets against Real Salt Lake, Portland and Tigers UNAL.

Things became progressively harder as they battled to a 3-2 win over LAFC before losing 2-0 to Nashville in the semi-finals, but Andrada continued to shine, making saves and putting in big performances as Monterrey ended the competition in fourth.

4. Kamal Miller (Inter Miami)

Kamal Miller was an integral part of Inter Miami's title winning side as he starred in defence. The 26-year-old looked good in his day-to-day role, but where he really shone was with the ball at his feet.

Miller made the most passes in his own half (359) and the most short passes (472), while he also attempted the most passes (525) in the Leagues Cup as he continually made himself available to receive the ball before using it well.

While Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets will ultimately take the plaudits for Miami's revival, Miller was brilliant right across the competition with the ball at his feet.

3. Bongokuhle Hlongwane (Minnesota United)

Bongokuhle Hlongwane scored goals at an impressive rate across the Leagues Cup, with seven goals in five matches for Minnesota.

The South African forward scored all of his goals from inside the box, while he showed his versatility with regard to his scoring, netting three with his right foot, two with his left and one with his head.

With 58.9 minutes per goal, Hlongwane was only just behind Messi's 56.4 minutes per goal, showing how good he was when going forward. Impressively, Hlongwane managed to convert 77.8% of his nine shots, with seven hitting the target and seven goals scored.

In any other year, Hlongwane would have likely led his team to Leagues Cup glory.

2. Sergio Busquets (Inter Miami)

Making the move from Barcelona to the USA cannot have been easy for Sergio Busquets, with the midfielder part of the furniture in La Liga. However, Busquets has been able to seamlessly transfer his form and ability from La Liga to the Leagues Cup.

While Busquets is not a player that will likely rank highly in the assists charts, he uses the ball incredibly well.

The midfielder boasts a 90% pass success rate, with 433 of his 478 passes finding their target. Seven key passes made shows Busquets was incisive with the ball, but where he really shone was in how patient and calm he is.

Busquets constantly picked the ball up under pressure and either found a quick pass or turned out of trouble, got his head up and pushed the ball forward.

Inter Miami were awful before the Leagues Cup, and while Lionel Messi's goals led them to a trophy, Busquets' calm under pressure is something Inter simply did not have before he arrived.

1. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)

The best player in the Leagues Cup by a long way, Lionel Messi did it all for Inter Miami as the side was able to lift the Leagues Cup in dramatic style.

Messi top scored with 10 goals, three more than anyone else, while he managed to net the most goals from outside the area, with half of his goals coming from outside of the box.

While the goals were hugely important, the timing of the goals was often the most important thing.

The winning goal against Cruz Azul came from a Messi free-kick in the 94th minute, while he scored a brace inside 22 minutes against Atlanta United in game two, with two more braces coming against Orlando City in a 3-1 win and their 4-4 draw with FC Dallas.

The quarter-final saw Messi netting the last of Inter's four goals, while he scored what turned out to be the winning goal against Philadelphia in a 4-1 win.

Finally, the Argentine managed to fire a stunning effort from outside of the box into the top corner against Nashville in the final, with Messi coming up clutch again and again.

While some questioned whether he would be able to hit the ground running for Miami, Messi has proved he is arguably the greatest player ever to take to the pitch, and he is lighting up football in America now too.