After being released from Boca, Cristian Lema retired from professional football

After being released from action after his time in Boca, Cristian Lema decided to put an end to his career as a professional soccer player. The 35-year-old defender had not played for the La Ribera club for more than a year and, despite receiving proposals to continue his career, he chose to retire and focus on

his personal life.

The decision was made towards the end of 2025, when he was about to end his contract with Xeneize. Although he was in good physical condition and had polls both in Argentine and foreign football, he chose to leave the fields permanently to dedicate himself to his family and to different ventures in Puerto Madryn, his

hometown.

Lema had arrived in Boca in early 2024 as the first reinforcement of Diego Martínez's cycle. The club paid close to 500 thousand dollars for its chip to Lanús and quickly became a regular part of the team and one of the starting players in the defense

.

However, his situation changed after the semifinal of the League Cup against Estudiantes de La Plata, in which he committed the penalty that led to the elimination of the team and was sent off. From then on, it lost ground and its participation began to decline.

In total, he played 34 games with the blue and gold jersey and scored one goal, against Rosario Central. After the departure of Martínez, he added a game with the interim of Mariano Herrón and another under the leadership of Fernando Gago, a 1-1 draw against Deportivo Riestra in La Bombonera, which ended up being the last of his career. Soon after, he suffered an injury to his left ankle that included ligament involvement and kept him off the courts for several months

.

After going through the operating room and going through a long recovery, he was considered again only in mid-2025, although he only joined the bench of substitutes in some games. Over time, he was definitely relegated from the professional squad and ended up training differently while his contractual situation was resolved

.

Without public announcements or formal dismissals, Lema's decision to retire matured during his final months of contract with Boca. Finally, after refusing different offers in the last pass market, he chose to close his career as a professional soccer player and start a new life away from

soccer.

The numbers of Lema in his career

Over the course of almost 17 years of experience, the defender went through 10 teams: Guillermo Brown from Puerto Madryn, Newell's, Tigre, Quilmes, Belgrano, Benfica, Peñarol, Damac FC, Lanús and Boca.

In total, he played 32,593 minutes, spread over 375 games, in which he scored 34 goals, gave 12 assists and received 121 yellow and 8 red. In terms of titles, Lema shouted champion twice: Primeira Liga 2019 and Torneo Apertura (Uruguay) 2019

.