Gary Lineker will reportedly quit presenting Match of the Day at the end of the season after 26 years.
He will also reportedly quit the BBC as a whole after presenting the 2026 World Cup in America, Mexico, and Canada, according to The Sun.
Lineker will reportedly also anchor coverage of the 2025-26 FA Cup campaign as part of an 18-month contract extension with the BBC, despite stepping down from Match of the Day duties.
Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan have previously been touted as the favourites to replace the former England striker.
It comes after Mail Sport revealed an email purportedly from the BBC’s director of sport, Alex Kay-Jelski, in October, which featured a statement announcing his imminent departure from the show.
Gary Lineker is reportedly set to quit presenting Match of the Day at the end of the season
The former England striker first started presenting the iconic highlights show back in 1999
That email, which suggested a show earlier this season would be his last – which has not been the case – also included comments from director general Tim Davie, who hailed an ‘incredible’ stint and described Lineker as a ‘world class presenter’.
A source told The Sun: ‘Gary absolutely adores Match of the Day, and has been incredibly happy at the BBC.
‘But he has been at the helm since 1999, and by the time he leaves, he will have been at the Beeb for 30 years.
‘It’s one of the industry’s worst kept secrets that the new BBC Director of Sport Alex Kay-Jelski and Gary aren’t exactly close. The former is very keen to make his mark by bringing in new faces, and slashing wage bills.
‘Negotiations have been ongoing for the past six weeks and finally a deal has been struck that everyone is pleased with.
‘Gary will be 65 when he leaves; frankly, he isn’t getting younger. and just feels the time is right to focus solely on his mogul interests outside the BBC – namely his Goalhanger podcasting business, which is becoming huge Stateside.
‘BBC execs, meanwhile, will be giving Match of the Day a reboot to keep it fresh in the wake of such a huge departure.’
Lineker’s contract finishes at the end of this season.
Lineker made light of the uncovered email in October, opening the first show after that by saying: ‘Hello. Seven games on the way and it’s my final show… before the international break.’
That was a more measured response to the one he gave when approached directly by MailOnline outside his home: ‘F*** off, I won’t talk to you. Go away.’
Lineker is the BBC’s highest-paid presenter, raking in a reported salary of around £1.35million.
The 63-year-old presenter has reportedly been linked with jobs at rival broadcasters and before his exit under a cloud, Jermaine Jenas was being lined up to replace the former England captain.
Reports in late September suggested Lineker would hold talks with the BBC this month over a multi-year deal after volunteering to take a pay cut.
A source was quoted by the Sun as saying: ‘Gary is hugely popular with both fans and players alike. The sense is that, with so much uncertainty and scandal at the BBC, right now viewers are crying out for a safe pair of hands.
Gary adores the BBC, and loves his job, and recognises what an honour it is to host television’s flagship football show, as well as international games.
‘Gary has long maintained that the BBC provides excellent value for money – and has quite literally put his money where his mouth is and offered to take a substantial pay cut.’
Lineker first began his punditry with the BBC at 5 Live and Grandstand before taking over as host of Match of the Day in 1999.
He has also presented Sports Personality of the Year, London 2012 and Golf for the corporation.
It is only a couple of months since Lineker suggested he would have ‘another year, at least’ at the helm of the BBC’s long-running football show, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in August.
He opened up about his future when asked how long he would keep presenting, and replied: ‘I don’t know… it depends how long they want me, I suppose.’
Interviewed by BBC Breakfast’s John Watson in August, he said: ‘I mean, I love doing it at the moment (and) I’ve got another year doing it, at least.
‘We’ll have to wait and see what happens. It’s an ever-changing feast, football, and television and football, and rights for the Premier League and stuff like that so all of these things will play a part.
‘But I just feel that it’s been a privilege to present it for 25 years now. I must be getting old.’
Lineker’s time as the face of Match of the Day has been controversial at times, with the presenter temporarily suspended last year for criticising the government’s asylum policy in a controversially worded tweet.
He returned soon after following a walk-out by his MOTD colleagues who showed solidarity with the former England striker, and the row even prompted the Beeb to overhaul and draw up a new set of guidelines for its presenters and their social media use.
Elsewhere in the interview, the BBC’s highest-paid star also explained why the show meant so much to him.
‘It’s been a part of my life, a big part of my life right from the start,’ he explained. ‘I watched it as a kid, it was the one night my dad would let me stay up to watch Match of the Day.
‘Because a lot of the population don’t have Sky or TNT or any of these streaming channels that show football and the Premier League, I think about half the population get their Premier League fix from Match of the Day and still do.’
He was also asked why he thinks the BBC show continues to draw in viewers, to which he replied: ‘I think part of it is that it’s trusted.
‘The longevity of the show, the love for the show. I think people enjoy seeing it that way, they like to see the highlights. They like to get their Premier League fix from us and hopefully that will continue.’
Lineker’s spot as the Beeb’s highest-paid talent is as much of a talking point with critics as his social media antics – and it was something his MOTD predecessor Des Lynam recently branded ‘unjustifiable’.
After quitting football, Lineker’s presenting career began with the BBC where he presented MOTD, as well as working for Al Jazeera Sports and NBC Sports Network.
With a reported overall net worth of £30million, he is one of the UK’s most notable sports figures and consistently presents at major tournaments including the Euros and the World Cup.
Over the course of his stellar football career, he played for England 80 times and scored 49 goals before retiring in 1994 to enter the media world.
As well as presenting, he signed a £1.2million three-year deal with Walkers Crisps in 2020 and has established his own podcast production company Goalhanger, which produces podcasts that includes The Rest is History and The Rest is Politics.
His BBC salary has been reduced since 2019 when he earnt 1.75m, and he took a voluntary pay cut of 23 per cent in 2020.
Goalhanger claims to be the UK’s largest independent podcast group, with 17.5 million downloads as of July 2023.
It was founded by Lineker, along with Tony Pastor and Jack Davenport.
More to follow.
