Franco Baresi funeral draws thousands in Milan

Thousands of people gathered outside Milan's Sant'Ambrogio Basilica on Tuesday for the funeral of former AC Milan captain Franco Baresi, who died last week aged 66.

Former teammates Paolo Maldini, Roberto Baggio and Alessandro Costacurta were among football figures and AC Milan representatives at the service.

Outside the church, mourners sang chants and waved red-and-black AC Milan flags and shirts bearing Baresi's number six.

Baresi won the World Cup with Italy in 1982 and was a finalist at the 1994 World Cup. He captained AC Milan in the 1980s and 1990s, when the club won three European Cups and six Italian league titles.

He retired in 1997 after 719 matches with AC Milan, a club total surpassed only by Maldini.

AC Milan did not specify the cause of his death. Baresi had undergone surgery in August 2025 to remove a lung nodule.