diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/44-close-connection.yml b/changelogs/fragments/44-close-connection.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..03c290c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/44-close-connection.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+minor_changes:
+  - mysql modules - patch the ``Connection`` class to add a destructor that ensures connections to the server are explicitly closed (https://github.com/ansible-collections/community.mysql/pull/44).
diff --git a/plugins/module_utils/mysql.py b/plugins/module_utils/mysql.py
index b5beb02..d4f94ab 100644
--- a/plugins/module_utils/mysql.py
+++ b/plugins/module_utils/mysql.py
@@ -89,6 +89,12 @@ def mysql_connect(module, login_user=None, login_password=None, config_file='',
         if autocommit:
             db_connection.autocommit(True)
 
+    # Monkey patch the Connection class to close the connection when garbage collected
+    def _conn_patch(conn_self):
+        conn_self.close()
+    db_connection.__class__.__del__ = _conn_patch
+    # Patched
+
     if cursor_class == 'DictCursor':
         return db_connection.cursor(**{_mysql_cursor_param: mysql_driver.cursors.DictCursor}), db_connection
     else: