Italy World Cup winner and AC Milan legend Franco Baresi dies aged 66

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing an Associated Press report, says Franco Baresi, the former AC Milan captain and Italy World Cup winner widely regarded as one of football’s great defenders, has died at 66. AC Milan announced his death on Friday, July 31, 2026, according to the report. The club did not give a cause of death. Al Jazeera reported that Baresi had surgery in August 2025 to remove a pulmonary nodule and later underwent immunotherapy.

Baresi spent his entire 20-year playing career with AC Milan after coming through the club’s youth system and making his senior debut in 1978 at age 17. He stayed with the team through relegation to Serie B and became captain at 22. He went on to make more than 700 appearances for Milan and led the club during a dominant era in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

His honours with Milan included three Champions League titles, six Serie A championships, two Intercontinental Cups, three European Supercups and four Italian Supercups. With Italy, Baresi was part of the squad that won the 1982 World Cup and later helped the national team reach the 1994 World Cup final, where Italy lost to Brazil on penalties. He also finished second in the 1989 Ballon d’Or voting.

Al Jazeera reported tributes from AC Milan, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Italian football officials and former players, reflecting Baresi’s standing in Italian sport. Milan retired his No. 6 shirt when he stopped playing in 1997, described in the report as a first for Italian football, and later named him honorary president in 2020.