Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza said he was "optimistic" as he arrived in Catalonia hoping to talk to Lionel Messi and other top Albiceleste stars about playing for their country again.
Former Sao Paulo manager Bauza has taken over from Gerardo Martino, who stepped down after the team's penalty shootout defeat to Chile in this summer's Copa America Centenario final, a painful loss which also saw Barcelona star Messi, 29, announce he was retiring from international football.
This all came amid ongoing institutional chaos in Argentine football, and reports that Messi's Barca colleague Javier Mascherano and Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero were also considering their international futures due to unhappiness with how the AFA were running the team.
On being appointed last week, Bauza said one of his first missions was to speak directly to Messi about his problems with the national team, and he spoke to reporters at Barcelona's El Prat airport on arrival in Europe.
"I'm feeling good as I'm here to speak about football, a language we know well," Bauza said. "This chat will be about a decision, I'm not here to convince Messi, I'm here to chat about football. I want him to tell me about the frustration which lead him to say what he did."
Bauza said he also hoped to speak with Mascherano and perhaps other players, so he can hopefully have as strong a squad as possible for the looming World Cup 2018 qualifiers against Uruguay and Venezuela in early September.
"I'm coming here to speak with Messi and Mascherano," he said. "If I have time I will go somewhere else too. I'm a natural optimist."