More than a century of football history has come to an abrupt end. Brescia Calcio, one of Italy's oldest and most respected clubs, has officially entered liquidation after failing to overcome debts of approximately €20 million.

Despite producing legendary players such as Andrea Pirlo and Sandro Tonali, and serving as a home to icons like Roberto Baggio and Pep Guardiola, the Lombardy club could not avoid financial collapse, closing the curtain on 114 years of history.

How Financial Problems Brought Brescia Calcio To An End

Brescia Calcio had a grey cloud over its head with an approximately €20 million debt burden. On 30th June, the club provided insufficient evidence that their debts could be paid, despite the sale of Sandro Tonali, which earned the Biancazzurri around €6m in transfer fees.

Two weeks ago, the club had registered for the provincial Under-16 championship, but this failed to convince the court.

The funds from Tonali's transfer will no longer be collectable by the club and will instead go into a FIFA fund. This also brings an end to the 'white V' issue. Union Pasini had acquired the Brescia brand from Corioni, meaning Cellino can no longer prevent the use of the symbol on the shirts.

Union Brescia Begin A New Chapter

The club was founded in 2025, following the disbandment of the original Brescia Calcio club. Union Brescia competed in their first season in 2025-26 and missed out on promotion to Serie B in the playoff final intwo-legged tie against Ascoli.

After drawing 1-1 in the home tie, Ascoli took advantage of home-field advantage and won promotion to Serie B 4-1 on aggregate. As did Brescia Calcio, Union Brescia play their home games at Stadio Mario Rigamonti.

Union Brescia will start their 2026-27 season with an away tie in the Coppa Italia against Arezzo. They will return home for the first Serie C match against Carpi two weeks after Coppa Italia duty.

The Legends Who Shaped Brescia's Legacy

Roberto Baggio had his no.10 jersey retired at the club after a historic 4 years and 95 appearances for the club between 2000 and 2004.

Baggio led Le Rondinelle to the UEFA Intertoto Cup final in 2001, which saw Paris Saint-Germain win 1-1 on away goals. Il Divin Codino moved to Brescia after becoming a free agent after two years at Inter. A shocking move for a player of his ability, but he refound his form and became the best player in the club's history.

One of the greatest managers also spent time in Italy with the club. After a lifetime playing for Barcelona, Pep Guardiola moved to Brescia to replace Pirlo and sit just deeper than Baggio.

Unfortunately, his time in Italy was unsuccessful and included a four-month ban for testing positive for nandrolone (for which he was later cleared of all charges after a protracted legal process in 2009).

Andrea Pirlo came through the Brescia academy and made his debut for the club at just 16 years old on 21st May 1995 in a Serie A fixture against Reggiana. He later spent time with the youth team before helping Brescia win promotion to Serie A in the 1996-97 season.

26-year-old Sandro Tonali came through the academy and spent 4 years and made just under 100 appearances for Brescia.

After making his debut in the 2017-18 season, he then followed in Pirlo's footsteps and won the Serie B title in the 2018-19 season while being an integral part of the squad.

He made his Serie A debut on 25 August 2019, aged 19, in a 1-0 away win against Cagliari. His first Serie A goal on came on 26 October, netting a long-range free kick into the top corner from the left flank, which was the opening goal in an eventual 3-1 away defeat to Genoa.