Gary Lineker has admitted to watching Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday for the first time, a surprising revelation given his long tenure at the BBC. The 65-year-old former Match of the Day presenter made the confession on his podcast, The Rest is Football, stating he had never tuned into the programme before.
Lineker, who stepped down from the BBC flagship show after 26 years, explained that his previous role meant he was always at the BBC headquarters watching live top-flight action, leaving no opportunity to view Sky's coverage. He said: 'Do you know what I watched yesterday? This is mad right, Gillette Soccer Saturday... I was thinking to myself, have I ever watched this programme before? Which sounds mad because it's been going forever.'
Soccer Saturday first aired in 1998 and has been a staple of weekend football viewing. The show has seen many changes over the years, with notable figures such as Jeff Stelling, Chris Kamara, and Paul Merson moving on. Simon Thomas now hosts the programme following Stelling's departure in 2023.
Since leaving the BBC, Lineker's production company Goalhanger has flourished, boasting 250,000 paying members and over 75 million monthly podcast downloads. He is set to return to mainstream television later this year as the host of a new ITV game show called The Box.
