AC Milan will carry a tribute to former captain Franco Baresi on their shirts throughout the 2026-2027 season, the Italian club has announced.
Baresi died in July at the age of 66 after a long illness. His number 6 has hung retired above the San Siro since he stopped playing in 1997, when Milan decided no other player would wear that shirt again because nobody could match him.
A tribute born from fans' messages
Milan said the commemorative emblem was designed after messages from rossoneri supporters and will accompany all of the club's teams throughout the 2026-2027 season, according to a club statement.
The design, made for the sleeves of the shirts, uses white and red colours alongside the words "6 per sempre", Italian for "6 forever".
The club, 19-time champions of Italy and seven-time champions of Europe, said the badge showed the love and affection of the Milan world for Baresi and for that number, which in the club's history will forever be synonymous with captaincy, loyalty and legend.
A career spent entirely at Milan
Baresi was Milan's emblematic captain through the 1980s and 1990s and one of the finest defenders of his generation, a true symbol of Italian football at a time when loyalty to a single club's colours was still common. He spent his entire playing career at Milan, from 1978 to 1997, and never wore another club's shirt, appearing only for Milan and the Italian national team.
After retiring as a player, Baresi stayed at the club, coaching its youth teams before later joining Milan's board of directors.
Milan open the season at Torino
Milan finished fifth in last season's Serie A and are now coached by Portuguese manager Ruben Amorim. The club began its new campaign away to Torino.
