Former soccer star Gary Lineker is to step down from hosting BBC Sport‘s flagship Match of the Day program after 26 years at the helm.
The ex-Barcelona player and England captain, regarded as one of the country’s best-ever soccer players, will leave his post at the end of the current Premier League season having first taken on the role in 1999, but has extended his BBC Sport contract until 2026 when he will lead the public broadcaster’s World Cup coverage. He will continue with MOTD‘s Top Ten podcast and host The Rest is Football podcast.
Match of the Day is one of the world’s most famous soccer shows, airing on the BBC since 1964. It shows the highlights from Saturday’s Premier League matches during a late-evening BBC One slot and features regular expert insight from guests such as Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard, Micah Richards, Martin Keown, Danny Murphy and Theo Walcott.
Lineker, now 63, has become the face of BBC Sport and the corporation’s highest-paid presenter, earning over £1.3 million ($1.67 million) annually, and leading World Cup, European Championship and Premier League coverage for over two decades.
Lineker said: “I’m delighted to continue my long association with BBC Sport and would like to thank all those who made this happen.”
Director of BBC Sport Alex Kay-Jelski added: “Gary is a world-class presenter, and we’re delighted that he’ll lead our coverage of the next World Cup and continue to lead our live coverage of the FA Cup. After 25 seasons Gary is stepping down from MOTD. We want to thank him for everything he has done for the show, which continues to attract millions of viewers each week. He’ll be hugely missed on the show but we’re so happy he is staying with the BBC to present live football.”
A household name in the U.K., Lineker has in recent years been at the center of controversy when he publicly compared, via X (then-Twitter), the Conservative government’s Home Office immigration policy to Nazi Germany. It led to the BBC clamping down on its social media rules for current staff as Lineker attacked the “immeasurably cruel” policy that saw the Tories attempt to stop asylum seekers crossing the Channel in small boats to enter Britain.
BBC News reported that news of Lineker’s MOTD departure was first detailed in The Sun. The BBC also said that Lineker was open to staying on at Match of the Day but the BBC did not offer him a new contract for the show when negotiations opened up in October.
The presenter has worked for other sports networks over his broadcasting career, including at U.S. network NBC and BT Sport (now TNT Sport).
Lineker is widely regarded as a competent and charismatic presenter as the search begins for his highly-anticipated replacement.
