Thousands of mourners gathered in the streets of Milan on Tuesday to pay their respects at the funeral of legendary defender Franco Baresi, who passed away last week at the age of 66 following a period of ill health.

Baresi is celebrated as one of the greatest defenders in football history. During his illustrious career with AC Milan, he captained the team for 15 seasons, making an impressive 719 appearances and netting 33 goals. His remarkable achievements with the club include:

• 6 Serie A titles
• 3 Champions Leagues
• 4 Italian Super Cups
• 3 UEFA Super Cups
• 2 Club World Cups

Internationally, Baresi earned 81 caps for Italy, playing a crucial role in the squad that lifted the 1982 World Cup trophy. Furthermore, he captained Italy in the 1994 World Cup final, where they faced Brazil.

In 2020, he was honored as the honorary president of AC Milan, and his iconic number six shirt was retired at the conclusion of his playing career.

The funeral service took place at Sant'Ambrogio Basilica and was attended by several club legends, including Paolo Maldini, Marco van Basten, Clarence Seedorf, Roberto Baggio, and Alessandro Costacurta. Although the current AC Milan squad is on a pre-season tour in Australia, some players, including USA forward Christian Pulisic, made the journey to honor their former captain.

AC Milan plans to pay tribute to Baresi ahead of their friendly match against Inter on Wednesday.