Mauricio Pochettino proclaimed he dreams of coaching Lionel Messi as Paris Saint-Germain edge closer to signing his fellow Argentine.
Messi is available on a free transfer after Barcelona confirmed on Thursday that La Liga's "economic and structural obstacles" prevented the 34-year-old signing a new contract at Camp Nou.
PSG quickly assembled a package to bring the six-time Ballon d'Or winner to the French capital and Pochettino shared a phone call with his compatriot over the move.
Messi has subsequently agreed to a lucrative contract with the Ligue 1 giants, according to reports, and he may be unveiled in a matter of days.
This means Pochettino - who was appointed PSG boss in January - is set to fulfil his personal ambition of "coaching the best".
"Messi is one of the best players in history and every coach dreams of coaching the best," the former Tottenham manager told reporters after leading his side to a 2-1 victory at Troyes.
Asked whether his players may have been unsettled by the speculation surrounding PSG and Messi, Pochettino responded: "The players are professionals.
"Today, with social networks, everyone has access to information and saw that Lionel Messi would not continue at Barcelona.
"His name has been associated with different clubs. But I believe that the team is professional and has ignored that for this game. And that they will stay focused until the end of the transfer window."
In a more-telling revelation, Pochettino confirmed Messi is "an option that was being evaluated" by PSG chiefs.
"His name is associated with different clubs, there are plenty of rumours," he added. "We will see what happens in the coming days.
"The players have stayed focused. We did not start the game well and we gave away too many chances for my liking.
"But we have to give Troyes credit for making it difficult for us, they showed a lot of energy. We would have liked to win 5-0 but we'll take what we achieved."
PSG new boy Achraf Hakimi equalised after Oualid El Hajjam opened the scoring for Troyes and Mauro Icardi scored the winner soon after.
There was no sign of Neymar, who has been granted an extended holiday after Brazil finished runners-up to Messi's Argentina in the Copa America last month.
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But the former Barcelona winger will be delighted at the prospect of joining up with his former teammate when he does return to action.
"What I want most of all is to play with Messi again, to be able to enjoy him once again on the pitch," Neymar told ESPN last season.
"He can play in my place, I have no problem with that. But I want to play with him next year, for sure. We have to do it next season."
