Garber coy on Messi playing in MLS alongside his son, 'LeBron-style'

MLS commissioner Don Garber has refused to rule out a fairy-tale future for Lionel Messi, telling Front Office Sports News that he is 'waiting to see' whether the Argentine could play alongside his own son in the league, LeBron James-style.

The question nobody had dared to ask

MLS commissioner Don Garber has been around long enough to know that some questions are best left alone. But when he sat down with Front Office Sports News this week, he was confronted with one of the boldest long-term scenarios yet surrounding Lionel Messi's American chapter.

Would the 39-year-old consider staying in Major League Soccer long enough to play alongside his own son — the football equivalent of what LeBron James did in the NBA?

The interviewer put it to him directly: with Messi settled in Miami, could he be trying to stick around so that one of his boys could one day share a pitch with him, 'LeBron-style'? Garber's response was deliberately coy: we'll have to wait and see.

It was hardly a denial. And coming from the man who has overseen MLS since 1999, the refusal to shut the door was always going to set tongues wagging.

What Garber actually said about the Messi family

Garber framed his answer around family, which has been central to Messi's Miami project from day one. The commissioner noted that the Argentine made MLS 'the league he wants to play in, the country of choice' — a deliberate decision rather than a retirement cruise.

'The fact that he's around his family, he's got three boys who play,' Garber said. 'Many of them are good. His oldest son is great, playing in the Inter Miami academy.'

Thiago Messi, the eldest, is in his early teens, and Garber guessed at '14 or 15 years old' during the interview. The commissioner then did what commissioners do: he turned the conversation into a league pitch, pointing out that MLS has signed teenagers like Cavan Sullivan — playing for the United States national team at just 16 — and arguing that no domestic league in the world gives more minutes to young players.

'So, who knows?' he concluded. 'We'll have to wait and see.'

The LeBron blueprint

The comparison is not as fanciful as it sounds. In the 2024-25 season, LeBron James and his son Bronny shared an NBA court for the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming the first active father-son duo in the league's history.

It was a moment decades in the making — a 39-year-old LeBron defying biology long enough for his son to reach the league — and it became one of the most discussed stories in American sport.

Messi's situation carries an echo. Both are global icons who chose longevity over farewell tours. Both relocated their families and built their late-career chapters around being close to them. The difference is the timeline: Bronny reached the NBA at 20, while a footballer of Thiago's age could plausibly debut years earlier.

The arithmetic of a father-son dream

Do the maths, and the dream is not impossible — just demanding. Messi is contracted to Inter Miami through the 2028 season, which would take him beyond his 41st birthday. Thiago, born in 2012, would turn 16 that same year.

For the two to share a pitch, one of two things would need to happen: Messi would have to play on past 2028, deep into his forties, or Thiago would have to debut extraordinarily early. Neither is out of the question in the modern game. Goalkeepers aside, outfield players are routinely performing at the top level past 40, and MLS in particular has become a league where 16-year-olds are not novelties but genuine contributors.

Cavan Sullivan — the teenager Garber name-checked in the interview — is the living proof. If a 16-year-old can feature for the national team, a 16-year-old Messi scion featuring for Inter Miami would not be a circus act; it would be a continuation of a trend the league is actively proud of.

Why the idea isn't as wild as it sounds

There is more to this than arithmetic. Messi's decision to retire from international football — he played his final game for Argentina in the 3-0 win over Benin at the Monumental on 6 October 2026 — removed the biggest load from his calendar.

No more transatlantic flights for World Cup qualifiers. No more October and November breaks. His attention is now focused solely on Inter Miami, and at 39 he remains one of the most productive players in MLS.

Garber himself said during the same interview that Messi was 'leading our rush for the Golden Boot' and the MVP race, and the evidence backs it up: the Argentine is still deciding big matches week after week.

Set against that, the idea of a 42- or 43-year-old Messi sharing a dressing room with his son looks less like fantasy and more like the kind of storyline sport specialises in delivering.

What comes first: finishing 2026 strong

For all the daydreaming, Garber was keen to stress the present. Messi's immediate focus is helping Inter Miami finish the 2026 season strongly, and the early signs are encouraging.

The Herons most recently beat New York City FC 2-0, with Messi providing an assist in a victory that secured their place in the MLS postseason. Next up is a Saturday evening date with Atlanta United, as Miami push for the highest possible seeding in the Eastern Conference.

Then come the playoffs — and with them, the chance for Messi to add an MLS Cup to a cabinet that needs little embellishment. A deep postseason run would only strengthen the league's case for keeping its greatest ever player as long as possible.

Why MLS would love it — and why it matters

Strip away the romance, and there is a commercial logic to Garber's coyness. Messi has been, in the commissioner's own words, the force that 'reset the trajectory' of Major League Soccer — drawing record crowds, record valuations and a global spotlight no other American league commands.

A father-son story would be the ultimate legacy product: the sport's greatest player mentoring his own heir, in the same shirt, in front of the same fans. It would be an MLS original, not a copy of LeBron — and it would give the league a narrative no rival could match.

Whether it happens will depend on Messi's body, Thiago's development and the simple passage of time. But Garber's eight words have done their job: the idea is out there now, and it will follow both men for as long as the number 10 is still on the pitch.

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