AC Milan great Franco Baresi dies aged 66

Italian football great Franco Baresi, the long-serving AC Milan captain who led the club to three European Cups and six Italian league titles, has died at the age of 66, the club announced on Friday.

AC Milan paid tribute to the defender, who became the club’s honorary vice-president in 2020, saying his “example and integrity” would remain part of its identity.

“Milan is in tears following the passing of Franco Baresi. His example and integrity will be forever etched into the Club’s DNA, just as his iconic number 6 shirt is,” the club wrote on X.

“We must be strong and gather every bit of energy, even at this saddest of times.

“We lost Franco only a few months after his last public appearance in a packed San Siro, at the Milan Winter Olympics opening ceremony, an event on the world stage he helped make unforgettable.

“In memory of Franco, we stand united, knowing he’ll guide and push us throughout our Rossoneri journey. Forever. Because Baresi is forever.”

AC Milan did not give a cause of death. Baresi had undergone surgery in August 2025 to remove a lung nodule and said afterwards: “It will take me a little time to get all my strength back.”

Born in Lombardy in May 1960, Baresi joined AC Milan’s youth system in 1974 and reached the senior side in 1978, shortly before his 18th birthday. He established himself as a first-team player at 18 and was appointed captain at 22.

His reading of the game, technique, timing in the tackle and leadership made him one of the outstanding defenders of his generation. Operating as a sweeper, Baresi became the central figure in a defensive unit that also included Paolo Maldini, Mauro Tassotti and Alessandro Costacurta.

That back four helped AC Milan dominate in Italy and Europe during the late 1980s and 1990s. Baresi retired in 1997 after making 719 appearances for the club, a total bettered only by Maldini.

Maldini said Baresi’s absence would be difficult to accept, comparing it with the feeling when the captain had been unavailable to play.

“Today I feel the same thing as to when for one reason or another you were unable to be on the pitch with us,” said Maldini.

“How are we going to cope without our captain?”

Baresi won the 1982 World Cup with Italy, although he remained on the substitutes’ bench for the final. He earned 81 caps for the national team and was also part of the side that reached the 1994 World Cup final.

He missed the 1986 tournament in Mexico after a disagreement with the national coach. Italy’s hopes of another World Cup triumph ended in penalty shootouts, first against Argentina in the semi-final of the 1990 competition and then against Brazil in the 1994 final.

Argentina’s Diego Maradona was involved in the 1990 defeat, but he had previously offered Baresi one of the most memorable tributes to his ability. After Napoli beat AC Milan 3-0 in a Serie A match the year before, Maradona asked for Baresi’s shirt and wore it during a post-match interview.

“He is the greatest of defenders. It is a memory I will keep for the rest of my life,” Maradona said.

Gianluigi Buffon also recalled facing Baresi at the start of his own career. Buffon made his Serie A debut for Parma against AC Milan on 19 November 1995, aged 17.

“November 19, 1995, I made my debut in Serie A against Milan,” he wrote.

“I was 17… to be on the pitch against such a champion was an unbelievable experience.”

Baresi continued to work in various roles for AC Milan after retiring. His only period away from the club came during a brief spell as technical director of Fulham.

“Ultimately, it was only a month: before the end of August, I was already back in Milan,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport in 2025.

“I realised it wasn’t the place for me, and in the end, I didn’t even start working. The umbilical cord with Milan was never broken.”

Away from football, he preferred to stay out of the gossip pages and worked abroad for Fondazione Milan, an experience he described as educational and rewarding.

“With Fondazione Milan, I witnessed poverty in Kenya and Morocco,” he told Gazzetta.

“In Lebanon, I played football in the street with children. These are emotions that have completed me.”