- Gary Lineker will step down as Match of the Day host at the end of the season
- Reports claim that Mark Chapman will refuse to share the role with co-hosts
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The BBC have reportedly delved into further drama amid plans to share the Match of the Day role among multiple presenters following Gary Lineker’s exit.
On Tuesday, it was confirmed that Lineker would leave the flagship football show at the end of the season, after 25 years as host.
The 63-year-old is thought to have volunteered to take a mammoth pay cut of £350,000-a-year from his current £1.35million salary, in order to stay in the role.
However, new boss Alex Kay-Jelski has been inclined to freshen up the show – with talks of a cast of rotating presenters – and seemingly declined Lineker’s offer.
The Sun claim that the BBC want Mark Chapman and Kelly Somers to take turns in the hot seat, but insiders claim that Chapman is not a fan of the idea.
Gary Lineker has quit Match of the Day after 26 years with the BBC’s flagship football show
Match of the Day 2 host Mark Chapman is a front-runner to take over from Lineker
However, reports claim Chapman is not keen to rotate the role with Kelly Somers (pictured)
The outlet claim that Chapman has flatly refused a Match of the Day job share.
The 51-year-old, currently hosting Match of the Day 2, made it clear he does not want to split the bigger role with Somers.
A source told the outlet: ‘As soon as Gary’s deal was done, Alex made it clear he wanted Mark and Kelly to replace him.
‘It would effectively be a job share and they would rotate hosting duties between them. Mark has made it clear within the team at MOTD that this isn’t something he would want to do.
‘He doesn’t want a job share, he wants Gary’s role as his own, which is understandable. It’s a headache for the BBC because they thought they’d found an easy solution.
‘It’s back to the drawing board and negotiations are ongoing.’
After 25 years at the helm of the BBC’s flagship football programme, Lineker has become an indelible figure in the minds of football fans.
His stewardship brought a number of memorable moments to the programme and its audience, for example presenting the show in his underpants as part of a wager following his Leicester side’s unprecedented Premier League crown.
Lineker’s contract finishes at the end of the season but has been given an 18-month extension
A source claims that Chapman ‘doesn’t want a job share, he wants Gary’s role as his own’
‘Broadcaster Gary Lineker is to step down as host of flagship football programme Match of the Day at the end of this season, BBC News understands,’ the BBC wrote on Monday evening.
His contract with the BBC finishes at the end of this season but he has been given an 18-month extension. However, that will not include Match of the Day anchoring duties.
Lineker is the BBC’s highest-paid presenter with a salary of £1.35million and his exit will close a long chapter for one of the nation’s most iconic shows.
The 1986 World Cup Golden Boot winner came in for criticism over the summer when he described England’s performance against Denmark in a 1-1 draw as ‘s***’.
His comments earned a retaliation from Harry Kane, who hit out at attacks from pundits who knew what it is like to ‘wear the shirt’.
Lineker currently also presents a hugely successful podcast alongside fellow Match of the Day pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, and will continue to do so once he departs the programme at the end of the season.
