After Inter Miami won the Leagues Cup against Cruz Azul in September, Don Garber addressed his disagreement with Messi. The MLS commissioner stated that he respected the confrontation.

Following Inter Miami's Leagues Cup victory, Messi and Garber were seen having a heated exchange before the Inter Miami captain went to celebrate the win with his teammates and family.

"You know, the greatest players in the world are all very passionate," Garber told Front Office Sports on Tuesday. "Legendary players don't just have passion. Leo just played on Saturday, scored two goals and provided one assist. He had just returned from international duty where he played for Argentina, and he's 39 years old. He's leading our Golden Boot race and is also leading in MVP voting."

"Throughout history, players like Muhammad Ali, Wayne Gretzky, and Michael Jordan all competed with strong commitment and passion, which made them unique and different, and made them the greatest among all-time greats. What happened between Leo and me at that moment is between us, and I'm not going to discuss it with you.

"But I appreciate and respect that. I think that's why Messi is the greatest player in football history. I would also say he's the greatest athlete of all time."

Inter Miami defeated Cruz Azul 2-0 in the Leagues Cup final. Messi scored in the 24th minute and then assisted Casemiro's second goal. This season, Messi has scored 23 goals and provided 13 assists in MLS, leading the 2026 Golden Boot race, and is currently second in the regular season assists standings.

This is not the first time Garber and Messi have had a disagreement. In 2025, after deciding to suspend Messi and former teammate Jordi Alba for missing the 2025 MLS All-Star Game, Garber joked that Messi didn't want to speak with him.

"I don't think he wants to talk to me," Garber said in 2025. "I didn't treat him like a regular player when I made that decision. So I probably won't go to Miami anytime soon, and I won't be attending events or doing media work with Leo."

Garber later defended his decision to suspend the two players.

"If you don't do that, you can't lead and you can't get the respect of all the owners. No matter what you do, the media will criticize you. After we suspended him, you'll write articles asking, 'How can you suspend Messi?' And before we suspended him, you'll ask, 'How can you not suspend Messi?'

"So the media has nothing to do with this. They'll criticize you no matter what."

Later, at MLS Cup 2025, Garber interacted with Messi again, and the MLS commissioner presented the cup to the Inter Miami captain. Currently, Inter Miami sits second in the Eastern Conference standings with 49 points after 28 matches.

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