The news was announced in the early hours of Thursday morning by the Italian TV channel RAI Sport, for whom Rossi had been working as a pundit.
The former Juventus and Milan player is widely regarded as one of the best forwards of all time and is most famous for his heroics at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
In the final he scored the opening goal as Italy defeated West Germany 3-1. Earlier in the tournament, in what is still considered one of the best World Cup performances, he scored a hat-trick to beat Brazil 3-2 and send one of the favorite out early.
Rossi won the tournament’s Golden Boot and Golden Ball and, in the same year, the Ballon d’Or. “On one hand I felt fulfilled. I said to myself: ‘You’ve made it,’” he said in a 2018 FIFA documentary. “On the other hand, I was disappointed that all of this just ended. The World Cup was over.”
He also scored three goals at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. With a total of nine goals, he remains Italy’s joint highest scorer at the World Cup with Roberto Baggio and Christian Vieri.