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Milan have been forced to release a statement denying rumours that club legend and honorary vice president Franco Baresi had died.
There had been some messages circulating on social media that Baresi had passed away at the age of 66.
He had revealed in August 2025 that he underwent surgery to remove a pulmonary nodule and had begun a course of immunotherapy.
On Wednesday evening, some rumours began to go around social media claiming that the former defender had died, and they became so frequent that the club felt it needed to take action.
“AC Milan denies the false reports concerning Franco Baresi that have begun circulating in recent minutes,” read the statement.
“Franco is going through a difficult and delicate time, and the Club stands firmly alongside him and his family. We urge everyone to respect their privacy and refrain from spreading entirely unfounded information.”
Baresi’s career is truly that of a one-club man, coming up through the youth academy to play only for the Rossoneri from 1977 until his retirement in 1997.
That involved playing 716 competitive games, scoring 33 goals and providing 24 assists, winning three Champions League trophies, six Serie A titles, two Intercontinental Cups, three European Supercups and the Supercoppa Italiana four times.
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As of October 2020, he has been honorary vice president of Milan, after taking other roles including as a coach in their youth academy.
In 1999, Baresi was voted Milan’s Player of the Century. After his final season at Milan in 1997, the club retired Baresi’s shirt number 6.
He was named by Pelé one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at the FIFA centenary awards ceremony in 2004 and was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
With the Italy national team, he was a member of the squad that won the 1982 FIFA World Cup, the first in 44 years. He also played in the 1990 World Cup held on home soil, where he was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team, while leading them to a third place in the tournament.
At the 1994 World Cup, he was named Italy’s captain and was part of the squad that reached the final, although he would miss a penalty in the resulting shoot-out as Brazil lifted the trophy.
Also, Baresi represented Italy at two UEFA European Championships, in 1980 and 1988, and at the 1984 Olympics, reaching the semi-finals on each occasion.
