Iker Muniain had almost everything in place to return to San Lorenzo. The sporting agreement was well advanced, fans were excited by the prospect of his comeback, and both sides of the Atlantic expected his arrival as head coach to be imminent. However, one regulatory detail turned the anticipated return to Boedo into a story with more twists than a real estate negotiation: the Spaniard did not have the CONMEBOL Pro License required to coach in Argentina's top division.

Muniain Already Had Everything Ready In Salamanca

The story began in Salamanca, where Muniain was unveiled on June 15 as the new head coach of Salamanca CF UDS for the 2026/27 season, after beginning his coaching career with CD Derio.

The Basque coach had already started organizing his new life. According to multiple sources close to the situation, he had chosen a house in Salamanca and was on the verge of finalizing the rental agreement with its owner. Coaching contract, new home, and relocation plans were all in place. His Spanish project appeared to be completely settled.

San Lorenzo Changed Everything

Then San Lorenzo came calling.

The Argentine club opened talks to bring back one of the most beloved players in its recent history, this time not as a footballer, but as head coach. Muniain had a clause that would allow him to leave Salamanca, and negotiations moved quickly.

The interest soon became a verbal agreement. Reports in Argentina stated that the former midfielder would travel within days to sign his contract and officially take charge of El Ciclón.

Faced with such an opportunity, Muniain put his Spanish project on hold.

And that included the house.

The Salamanca homeowner, who believed everything had already been agreed upon, was informed that the rental would no longer go ahead. His prospective tenant now had different plans: pack his bags, cross the Atlantic, and return to the club where he had been captain, a leader, and one of the few bright spots during a difficult campaign.

It seemed like the perfect full-circle story. Muniain was returning to the club that had embraced him as a player, ready to begin a new chapter on the touchline.

Why Couldn't Muniain Coach San Lorenzo?

Then came the most unexpected obstacle: a coaching license.

Muniain held the qualifications required to coach in European football, but he did not possess the CONMEBOL Pro License, a mandatory credential for coaching professionally in South America. The issue could not be resolved within the timeframe San Lorenzo needed, and a deal that appeared all but complete collapsed before the Spaniard could even board a plane.

There were no disagreements over tactics, transfer targets, or salary.

One missing document brought one of the transfer market's most surprising coaching moves to a halt.

The Unusual House Negotiation He Had To Start Again

Within days, Muniain went from preparing for life in Buenos Aires to rebuilding the project he had temporarily left behind. He would remain as Salamanca's head coach, after the club came close to losing its newly appointed manager less than two weeks after announcing him.

But there was still one final chapter.

With the move to Argentina officially off, the Spaniard contacted the owner of the very house he had originally selected in Salamanca. The same property he had reserved, negotiated, and then walked away from because of the chance to coach San Lorenzo was suddenly back on his list.

In football terms, it was something of a real estate repechage.

Muniain had to reopen negotiations with the homeowner, hoping the property was still available and that the owner would prove more patient than South American bureaucracy. In the end, the coach returned to where he had started: Salamanca, his Spanish project, and the house he had briefly abandoned in pursuit of a return to Boedo.

The Questions Left Behind By The Failed Move

The failed appointment also raised inevitable questions inside San Lorenzo. How did negotiations progress to the point of a verbal agreement without first confirming that the coach met the licensing requirements? Why was his arrival reported as virtually complete before a mandatory credential had been verified? And who was responsible for checking the validity of the required coaching license?

Muniain had agreed to return. San Lorenzo had chosen him. Fans were already imagining him back at the Nuevo Gasómetro. Even a house in Salamanca had become an unexpected casualty of the negotiations.

But one piece of paperwork was missing.

And so, because he lacked the license required to sit on San Lorenzo's bench, Iker Muniain ended up asking for a second chance to move back into the very house he had turned down just days earlier.

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