Maldini, 58, who also spent his entire career at Milan, paid tribute to his former team-mate, writing on Instagram:, external “Today, I feel the same way I did whenever – for whatever reason – you couldn’t take the field alongside us: how will we manage without our captain?

“You taught me to fight until my very last breath, and showed me the meaning of devotion to the jersey and the true value of leadership.

“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 ever had the honour of playing with.”

Former Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon shared memories of his debut for Parma competing against Baresi as a 17-year-old in 1995.

He wrote: “For a boy my age, finding myself on the field against champions like him was something incredible. From that day on, I had an even clearer understanding of what it meant to represent football with class, leadership and respect.”

Inter Milan said:, external “Farewell to Franco Baresi, protagonist of the great clashes in the Milan derby and one of the figures who most defined the history of the rivalry.

“Captain, team man and flagbearer of AC Milan, he lived every match-up with Inter between competition and respect, within a challenge that wrote unforgettable pages of Italian soccer.”

Inter Milan manager Cristian Chivu said Baresi’s death “is a sad day for the whole world, he represented being one of the greats in the history of football”.

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said Baresi “was not only one of the greatest champions in (Italian) sports history, but also an example of loyalty, seriousness, and dedication”.

The head of the Italian football federation (FICG), Giovanni Malago, praised Baresi for the “romantic choice” of staying loyal to AC Milan throughout his career, “which rightfully made him enter the hearts of the fans and millions of Italians.”