Gary Lineker today accused the BBC of forcing him out of Match of the Day.
The broadcaster, 64, has used an interview with the corporation to suggest that his bosses never wanted him to stay despite starting contract talks last year.
Mr Lineker apparently even offered to take a pay cut to stay on Match of the Day.
Speaking to Amol Rajan, he was asked why he would leave the BBC’s flagship football show after 26 years, having replaced former anchor Des Lynam in 1999.
‘Well, perhaps they want me to leave. There was the sense of that’, Lineker said, adding: ‘I think it was their preference that I didn’t do Match of the Day for one more year, so they could bring in new people’.
Sky Sports’ Kelly Cates and BBC regulars Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan will all share the role from August.
In a wide-ranging interview Mr Lineker insisted that he would not now go into politics but doubled down on his right to give his views on social media despite BBC impartiality rules, declaring: ‘I’ve always been strong on humanitarian issues and always will be, and that’s me’.
He also said his criticism of Suella Braverman over migrants was ‘right’ and he also accused the BBC of having ‘capitulated’ to criticism over a recent documentary on Gaza that appeared to have links to Hamas.
Gary Lineker has said that he believes the BBC didn’t want him to stay on Match of the Day
He told Amol Rajan that he had the right to give his views despite impartiality rules
Mr Lineker is just weeks away from his final Match of the Day on a Saturday night.
He has told Mr Rajan that he will use his free weekends to travel more and concentrate on his podcast business, Goalhanger.
He will leave the BBC completely at the end of the 2026 World Cup.
‘I always wanted one more contract, and I was umm-ing and ahh-ing about whether to do three years [more],’ Lineker said.
‘In the end, I think there was a feeling that, because it was a new rights period, it was a chance to change the programme.
‘I think it was their preference that I didn’t do Match of the Day for one more year, so they could bring in new people. So it’s slightly unusual that I would do the FA Cup and the World Cup, but to be honest, it’s a scenario that suits me perfectly.’
In his 25 years at the corporation he has become a lightning rod for criticism, especially after his public comments on immigration policy and the Conservatives.
Asked about his suspension for criticising Suella Braverman in 2023 over the then Government’s plans to stop small boats migrants claiming asylum, he said:
‘I don’t regret saying them publicly, because I was right – what I said, it was accurate’, but he added that he regretted the damage the row had caused the BBC.
But he went on: ‘It was a ridiculous overreaction that was just a reply to someone that was being very rude. And I wasn’t particularly rude back’.
Last month he signed an open letter urging the BBC to reinstate a documentary about Gaza to iPlayer. It was highly controversial because it was made remotely from the UK and one of the child narrators turned put to be the son of a Hamas government minister and grandson of one of Hamas’ founding members.
Lineker said he would ‘100%’ support the documentary being shown again.
‘I think you let people make their own minds up. We’re adults. We’re allowed to see things like that. It’s incredibly moving’.
He added: ‘I think [the BBC] just capitulated to lobbying that they get a lot’.
Mr Lineker held talks over his future last Autumn.
But the BBC did not offer him a contract that he wanted in a move that will save them a fortune.
The footballer turned pundit, 63, has been the regular host of the show since 1999 but he will end his 25-year stint on the Saturday night programme at the end of this season.
Lineker, a lightning rod for criticism over impartiality in recent years will leave the corporation altogether in two years’ time after the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States, as first reported by MailOnline in October.
Former Director General Greg Dyke said that that Lineker’s penchant for giving personal views will have been ‘in the mind’ of the BBC when they decided to go for the team of new hosts.
‘In the end, people watch Match Of The Day for the football’, he said.
Lineker’s future has been the subject of speculation for some time, especially after Mail Sport revealed an email in October which purported to announce his impending departure
Lineker and his new boss BBC’s director of sport, Alex Kay-Jelski, held talks but no contract was offered
A BBC source insisted that Mr Lineker is ‘happy’ and ‘everyone is pleased’ that he will leave MotD in May and the BBC two years later.
But added that is an open secret that Mr Kay-Jelski is ‘not exactly close’ with the former England striker and is keen to slash spending and give the show a facelift without him.
Lineker has branched out in recent years by co-founding the production company Goalhanger.
The company produces his podcast The Rest is Football, with other titles including The Rest is History, The Rest is Politics and The Rest is Entertainment.
The Rest is Politics co-host Campbell effectively confirmed Lineker’s departure to Sky News, stating that the outgoing Match of the Day host would be ‘a very hard act to follow’.
Lineker’s time as the face of Match of the Day has been divisive at times, with the presenter temporarily suspended last year for criticising the government’s asylum policy in a controversially worded tweet.
Lineker is the BBC’s highest-paid presenter with a salary of £1.35million and his exit will close a long – and controversial – chapter for one of the nation’s most iconic shows.
The former England striker first started presenting the iconic highlights show back in 1999
Lineker’s time as the face of Match of the Day has been divisive 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.
It has been hard for the BBC to keep a handle on him when he presents his popular podcast, The Rest Is Football, alongside Micah Richards and Alan Shearer.
During Euro 2024 he branded England’s performance against Denmark as ‘s***’, which prompted a retaliation from Harry Kane, who hit out at attacks from pundits who knew what it is like to ‘wear the shirt’.
That shock jock tone landed him in hot water and stands in stark contrast to the more composed, cerebral style that Match of the Day upholds.
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.
Arguably his most famous moment on the show came when he presented it in his underpants in August 2016 after Leicester City won the Premier League title
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 few 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.’
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 landed himself in hot water when he called England ‘s***’ during Euro 2024
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 including 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.
It was founded by Lineker, along with Tony Pastor and Jack Davenport.
