Gary Lineker has suggested the BBC wanted him to leave Match of the Day, ahead of his departure next month after more than 25 years hosting the show. In an interview with Amol Rajan for the BBC, Lineker said: “Well perhaps they want me to leave … there was a sense of that.”
The former England striker, 64, will be replaced by Gabby Logan, Kelly Cates and Mark Chapman from the 2025-26 season. He will continue to host the BBC’s FA Cup coverage in 2025-26 and the 2026 World Cup. Lineker said the new rights period gave the broadcaster an opportunity to change the programme.
Lineker has been the BBC’s highest-paid on-air talent for seven consecutive years, earning an estimated £1.35m in 2023-24. He will continue with the Match of the Day Top 10 podcast and The Rest is Football podcast alongside Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.
Reflecting on his 2023 suspension after a social media post criticising the government’s asylum policy, Lineker said he did not regret the comments but would not repeat them due to the “kerfuffle” that followed. He added: “I love the BBC, and I didn’t like the damage that it did to the BBC.”
Lineker also voiced support for the reinstatement of the BBC documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, which was removed from iPlayer after it emerged the narrator was the son of a Hamas official. He said: “I think you let people make their own minds up. We’re adults. We’re allowed to see things like that.”
