Former Inter Milan defender Nicolas Giani has passed away at the age of 39. The centre-back died following a lengthy illness, which had forced him to stop his playing career in 2022. He would have turned 40 next month. The Italian came through the Inter academy and had a stellar career in his homeland, captaining SPAL.

He announced his retirement four years ago as a result of an incurable illness, which eventually claimed his life, as he leaves behind a wife, Rluca, and a daughter, Bianca. He also played for Italian clubs Cremonese, Pro Patria, Vicenza, Perugia, Spezia, Feralpisalo and Desenzano.

The centre-back led SPAL to their promotion to Serie A, but he never made an appearance in the top flight, despite representing his national team at Under-18 and Under-19 level and forging a successful career in the second division.

Inter Milan released a statement that read: “FC Internazionale Milano expresses its deepest condolences on the passing of Nicolas Giani, a defender who was part of the Nerazzurri youth sector from 1998 to 2005. The club extends its sincerest sympathies to his family at this time.”

Spezia added: “Spezia Calcio expresses its condolences for the untimely passing of Nicolas Giani. The Giani family has the thoughts and strong embrace of the entire club.”

Vicenza also wrote: “On behalf of the entire club, our deepest condolences to the entire family.”

Giani captained SPAL from Serie C, leading them to two promotions, before the club ultimately went bankrupt in 2025.

Giani left SPAL on the eve of their Serie A opener, deciding to return to the second tier with Spezia, before dropping down into Serie C and D before retirement.

In August, SPAL ceased to exist due to financial issues. A club statement at the time confirmed: “With great regret, the owners of Spal announce that the club will not participate in the 2025-26 Serie C campaign.

“It is a painful epilogue that arrived after numerous attempts to find concrete solutions that could guarantee the continuation of the project. Unfortunately, the current conditions do not make that possible.

“In the last four years, the owners made significant financial efforts, investing €50m in liquidity, with €12m alone in the last season, in an attempt to relaunch Spal and give the city of Ferrara a team suited to its history and passion.

“However, the results were not satisfactory, nor proportional to the level of investment.”