Milan and Italy legend Franco Baresi made his last appearance at San Siro this past February, carrying the Olympic Torch alongside Beppe Bergomi.
Former Milan and Italy defender Baresi has died at 66.
The Italian football icon had begun a course of immunotherapy in August 2025 after having had surgery to remove a pulmonary nodule.
The last time he appeared in public was on February 6, 2026, at San Siro. Baresi was one of the torchbearers for the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony for the Milan Cortina Winter Games and brought the Olympic Torch alongside Inter legend Bergomi.
L’ingresso della torcia olimpica
Franco Baresi e Beppe Bergomi
Paola Egonu, Anna Danesi e Carlotta Cambi
Simone Giannelli, Simone Anzani e Luca Porro pic.twitter.com/AlG76TuGJL— Eurosport IT (@Eurosport_IT) February 6, 2026
“It was the most emotional moment of my sporting life. I’ve never felt anything like it,” Baresi told Repubblica the following day.
“You hold that torch between your fingers, and you know it carries the history of sport, in a way also that of human civilisation. An incredibly powerful symbol.”
Baresi recalled: “About a month and a half ago, the president of CONI called me.
“I replied: ‘Are you sure? I’m not really in great shape.’ He said: ‘No worries, you won’t have to go very far.’ It was a great honour, completely unexpected.
“[Bergomi and I] were good at keeping it secret, really; nobody knew about this.”
Every Serie A club, including Milan’s rivals Inter and Juventus, has paid tribute to Baresi and sent its condolences to his family and Milan.
His former teammate Paolo Maldini wrote on Instagram: “You protected me when I was a child, guided me as a young man, and inspired me as an adult. You were the greatest footballer I have ever had the honour of playing alongside.”
