Érik Lira
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Lira with Mexico in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Érik Antonio Lira Méndez | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 8 May 2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Mexico City, Mexico | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Cruz Azul | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2018 | UNAM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | Necaxa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Necaxa | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | UNAM | 57 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022– | Cruz Azul | 161 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | Mexico U23 | 9 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Mexico | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:05, 18 March 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 November 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Érik Antonio Lira Méndez (born 8 May 2000) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Liga MX club Cruz Azul, which he captains, and the Mexico national team.
International career
On 27 October 2021, Lira made his senior national team debut under Gerardo Martino in a friendly match against Ecuador.[1]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 17 March 2026[2]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Necaxa | 2018–19 | Liga MX | — | 3 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| UNAM | 2020–21 | Liga MX | 36 | 0 | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 38 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | 21 | 0 | — | — | — | 21 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 57 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 59 | 0 | ||||
| Cruz Azul | 2021–22 | Liga MX | 20 | 0 | — | 5[b] | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | 36 | 0 | — | — | 1[c] | 0 | 37 | 0 | ||||
| 2023–24 | 35 | 0 | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 36 | 0 | ||||
| 2024–25 | 39 | 1 | — | 7[b] | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 50 | 1 | |||
| 2025–26 | 31 | 0 | — | 4[b] | 1 | 4[d] | 0 | 39 | 1 | |||
| Total | 161 | 1 | — | 16 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 187 | 2 | |||
| Career total | 218 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 249 | 2 | ||
- ^ a b c Appearances in Leagues Cup
- ^ a b c Appearances in CONCACAF Champions Cup
- ^ Appearance in Supercopa de la Liga MX
- ^ Three appearances in Leagues Cup, one appearance in FIFA Intercontinental Cup
International
- As of match played 18 November 2025[3]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 2021 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 12 | 0 | |
| Total | 17 | 0 | |
Honours
Cruz Azul
Mexico U23
Mexico
Individual
References
- ^ "México inicia con cuatro debutantes ante Ecuador, entre ellos Santi Giménez". espndeportes.espn.com. October 27, 2021.
- ^ Érik Lira at Soccerway
- ^ Érik Lira at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ "United States 1-2 Mexico: Mauricio Pochettino's side beaten in Gold Cup final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
- ^ "Mexico win first Nations League final thanks to Raúl Jiménez double". The Guardian. 2025-03-24. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
- ^ "LIGA MX announces roster for 2022 MLS All-Star Game at Allianz Field". Major League Soccer. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ https://www.mlssoccer.com/allstar/2025/news/2025-liga-mx-all-star-team-roster