November 12th 2024.
Gary Lineker has been a staple as the presenter of Match of the Day for the past 25 seasons. However, it has now been confirmed that he will be stepping down from his role at the end of the current season. The BBC, where Lineker has worked for over two decades, has also confirmed that he will be leaving the corporation after presenting their coverage of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. According to The Sun, Lineker will continue to work with the BBC in a reduced capacity.
Alex Kay-Jelski, Director of BBC Sport, expressed his delight in having Lineker lead their coverage of the next World Cup and continue to present the FA Cup matches. He also thanked Lineker for his contributions to Match of the Day, which continues to attract millions of viewers every week. While Lineker will be greatly missed on the show, the BBC is happy that he will still be presenting live football for them.
Lineker, who is known to be one of the BBC's highest earners, has been the host of Match of the Day since 1999. However, there has been speculation about his future on the show in recent months. According to a source, there is tension between Lineker and Kay-Jelski, who is looking to bring in new faces and cut costs. It has taken six weeks of negotiations, but a deal has finally been reached that satisfies everyone involved.
Last year, Lineker caused controversy when he was briefly suspended from hosting Match of the Day due to a tweet about the British government's asylum policy. In solidarity with Lineker, his fellow presenters and pundits refused to appear on the show, which was reduced to a 20-minute highlights package without any hosts or commentary. Lineker was reinstated a week later.
Aside from his work on Match of the Day, Lineker also has a popular podcast with regulars Alan Shearer and Micah Richards. With his departure, the question of who will replace him as the next Match of the Day presenter has been raised. The top contenders, according to odds courtesy of OLBG, are Mark Chapman, Alex Scott, Gabby Logan, Jason Mohammed, Kelly Somers, and Dion Dublin. However, one name that was previously mentioned, Jermaine Jenas, has been dropped by the BBC due to inappropriate behavior.
Lineker took over as the host of Match of the Day from Des Lynam in 1999 after starting as a presenter for BBC Radio Five Live and Grandstand. He is no stranger to making headlines, famously presenting the programme in his underpants in 2016 after his boyhood club Leicester won the Premier League. However, there has been speculation about Lineker's future on the show since an interview in August where he mentioned looking forward to at least another year as the host.
Last week, Lineker, who will turn 64 in November, admitted that he will have to slow down at some point and may focus on his successful podcast business full-time. He said that he is getting older and will have to slow down somewhere. Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy paid tribute to the long-serving presenter, describing him as a warm, charismatic, and intelligent man who has become a part of everyone's Saturday evening routine. He also joked that Lineker, who looks good for his age, is getting tired in his old age and probably just wants to cook a Sunday roast.
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