Lamela explains retirement decision: It started 11 years ago...

Posted Monday, August 18, 2025 by tribalfootball

Former Tottenham and Roma midfielder Erik Lamela says his hip problems has forced him into retirement.

The Argentine, while contracted to Sevilla, announced his retirement last week at the age of 33 and last night took to social media to explain his decision.

Lamela said: "I want to announce that I have made the decision to end my professional career. It's a decision I've been thinking about for a long time, and the time has finally come.

"For those who don't know, I have hip problems. They started 11 years ago, and in 2017 I had surgery on both hips, with the left one being more affected. It was a difficult year, I was very scared... I thought it might be the end of my career, and I was 25 years old.

"After the operations went well, they gave me four more years of career. They told me I'd get worse over time, and that's what I'm experiencing now. With a lot of sacrifice, spending hours with the physiotherapists, strengthening myself in the gym, and with an endless series of injections and treatments, I've managed to play more than twice as much!

"This is an effort that only those who have been close to me can truly understand. It hasn't been easy at all. Being in pain, playing and training with problems has become the norm over time.

"For five years I've been taking pills for every match to be able to play in the best possible condition, starting with the lowest dose and recently taking the maximum two days before the match to be ready.

"Now I decide to put an end to all this, now all this effort ends.

"This year, it's been very difficult for me to go to every game, training on my bike and in the gym. I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank Matias Almeyda for making this possible, and my teammates for accepting it.

"This year, things have changed; they haven't accepted my way of training, and I completely understand that. Therefore, in mutual agreement with the club, we have decided to end it in the best possible way. I have the peace of mind that I've made it to the end."