Cristian Franco Lema is an Argentine centre-back who played for Newell's Old Boys, Tigre and Quilmes before four seasons at Belgrano, where he became the club's highest-scoring defender in league history. He signed a five-year contract with Benfica in June 2018 and made two first-team appearances, both in October 2018, as the club won the Primeira Liga. In February 2019 he was loaned to Peñarol of Uruguay, and he returned to Argentina on loan at Newell's Old Boys for 2019/20.