Former Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker has joked that Thomas Tuchel is a “German spy” while criticising the England manager on The Rest Is Football. The 65-year-old was speaking on the Netflix TV show version of the popular podcast after England were knocked out of the Fifa World Cup in a 2-1 defeat to Argentina in Atlanta in the US on Wednesday.
Lineker's Comments on Tuchel
The former England striker said: “I just wonder whether Thomas Tuchel’s like a German spy, we’ve been infiltrated, I think Germany, because they’re not very good at the moment, they can’t get past the group stage, and I think they’ve sent in someone. I mean, I’m joking, I’m joking obviously, but he said after the Croatia game, he said, ‘if we lose, we’ll lose our way by playing aggressive, attacking football’, he went totally against that, didn’t he?”
Questioning Tuchel's Future
Gary Lineker also questioned whether Thomas Tuchel was the right manager for England. He added: “I think the most frustrating thing as well was this team, they had a chance if they’d gone for it, and they just got it I think so wrong. And is he the right man to take us forward? Well, I mean, I never ask for anyone to get sacked, I don’t think it’s the thing to do, but it depends on him and how he feels, and also how the FA feels.”
Vieira's Response
Former Arsenal and France midfielder Patrick Vieira, who was a guest on the show, interjected and told Lineker: “You would be mad for me, to sack him or to change the coach”.
Lineker's BBC Salary
It comes after Lineker was revealed to have been paid between £325,000 and £329,999 by the BBC for the year to March 2026 in its latest Annual Report, placing him 15th in the list of the corporation’s highest earners for that period, having left the BBC in May last year. He had a salary of between £1,350,000 and £1,354,999 in the last annual report.
Previous Controversy
Lineker’s departure came after a row following an Instagram post he made about Zionism, which featured a depiction of a rat, historically an antisemitic insult. The sports broadcaster apologised for the post, adding that he did not see the rat visual and that he did not think “anyone actually believes I would’ve posted that”.
The FA and Thomas Tuchel have been contacted for comment.
