Baresi had been unwell for some time, having undergone surgery for a lung nodule last year, and his funeral is due to take place on Tuesday, August 4, at the Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio in Milan. He spent his entire 20-year playing career at the San Siro, won three European Cups and 81 caps for Italy, and had his number six shirt retired by the club after he retired.
Alessandro "Billy" Costacurta, who played alongside Baresi at the heart of AC Milan's defence for over a decade, told Sky Sport that his former team-mate had been a defining influence not just on his own career but on an entire generation of Italian defenders.
"For me, and I think for all the Italian defenders of that era who made history and became a symbol of attitude and concentration, he was the teacher. He and Gaetano Scirea were examples for all of us, leaving a mark that for me will be indelible," Costacurta said.
Asked about comparisons to Michael Jordan, he added: "He was a modern player forty years ago. Excellent in build-up play and ice-cold, focused and incredibly strong defensively. He stole the ball and read the game with a hunger that was almost animalistic. His Milan didn't yet have the strength in depth that Maldini later enjoyed — Franco was the most important piece of a Milan side that entered the history books."
Costacurta also reflected on Baresi's standing within the club's history: "Franco is probably the greatest Milan player there's ever been, it's a beautiful contest between him and Paolo Maldini. He carried the Milan shirt even in Serie B, to bring it back up, and thanks to fierce determination and discipline we all had the fortune and quality together to celebrate nights like those in the European Cup."
Paolo Di Canio, who played alongside Baresi for two seasons at Milan, also paid tribute on Sky Sport on the day the news broke.
"The blows to the stomach are becoming persistent, so many of them. We don't have time to recover from one loss before we've lost someone else we've lived through, a legend for everyone. We're losing a fantastic man before a great champion — I've heard every superlative used about him, and in his case we're not exaggerating," Di Canio said.
He described what Baresi meant to the dressing room: "If Vialli was my brother, he was the Captain, my Captain. He represents what it means to be a leader, he was a demanding professional trying to get the best out of everyone. If you were smart, you learned from him how to make the most of your potential — he was the glue and the guide for everyone, he read the game two or three moves ahead, he was like something from another planet."
Di Canio also shared a lighter memory from a club tour: "There's an experience I remember fondly — when we were in China on tour and had some free time, he called me to go with him and Donadoni. I have a photo of us pretending to be bodybuilders. I'll carry that with me."
Christian Panucci, speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport while on tour with Milan in Australia, described Baresi as the strongest team-mate he ever had.
"I'm devastated. Beyond being the strongest team-mate I've ever had, he was above all an exceptional person," Panucci said, recalling a message Baresi sent him for his 50th birthday: "Dear Christian, you're 50, but you've got the spirit of a 20-year-old. Happy birthday."
Panucci also remembered the drives between Milan and the club's Milanello training base, when Baresi would let him take the wheel despite being just 19 at the time: "He never shouted at me or told me off — a look from him was enough for me to understand my mistake."
He added that Baresi led without needing the captain's armband to do so, praising his ability to raise standards daily without letting difficulties weigh on those around him. Panucci closed with an image of where he now pictures his former captain: "I see him in the sky, alongside Maradona and president Berlusconi."