Long-time Match of the Day host Gary Lineker is back in the headlines today following an eye opening interview for the BBC with Amol Rajan, although in a few weeks he’ll be less of a fixture on our screens, stepping down after over a quarter of a century hosting the broadcaster’s flagship weekend football highlights show.
The presenter is a staple of the corporation’s football coverage, but will step down from his role as the host of Match of the Day at the end of the current campaign.
The ex-England, Spurs and Barcelona striker took over from Des Lynam on MotD way back in 1999, but will blow the final whistle on Match of the Day at the conclusion of this season, exiting the corporation entirely after the 2026 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Lineker’s term as host has seen him involved in some of the programme’s most unforgettable moments, such as when he presented the first episode of the 2016/17 season in his underwear as a bet following Leicester City’s unexpected Premier League victory in the previous season.
The 64-year-old host has also made news for his personal and political opinions, with a social media post about the UK’s asylum policy which compared the language used by the former Conservative government around immigration to “Germany in the 30s” leading to a brief suspension by the BBC in 2023, resulting in walk outs in solidarity from his fellow presenters, a surreal commentator-free edition of MotD, and prompting a review of the corporation’s social media guidelines.
Lineker, one of the most celebrated footballers of his era, played for Leicester, Everton, Spurs and Barcelona, earning 80 caps for England in the process. However, his football career concluded before the financial surge brought about by the Premier League, with the majority of his wealth stemming from his more recent TV work.
Although Lineker missed out on the Premier League pay bonanza, The Mirror reported in 2023 that his net worth was around £30m.
In addition to his long-standing role at the BBC, the presenter has also collaborated with TNT Sports and is well-known for fronting advertising campaigns, most famously for his fellow Leicesterites Walkers crisps. This relationship began in 1995, and in 2020, he signed a new deal reportedly worth worth £1.2m with the same company.
A healthy chunk of the wealth can also be attributed to his BBC salary. The corporation’s annual salary report last year June revealed that the presenter, its top earner, took home between £1,300,000 and £1,354,999 for the year 2023/2024 – more than a quarter of a million more than second-placed Zoe Ball..
Lineker also owns media company Goalhanger, which he established in 2014 with former ITV controller Tony Pastor. His self-produced podcast, The Rest Is Football, which he hosts alongside Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, is one of many audio shows produced by the company, which also makes The Rest Is Politics and The Rest Is History,. As of May 31, 2024, the company’s accounts showed a worth of around £1.9m, plus £2.7m in bank reserves.
Lineker has been the BBC’s top earner for the past seven years, reportedly offered to take a significant pay cut of approximately £350,000 to continue presenting MOTD, but will now depart the show entirely.
A frequent target of opponents of the BBC, and specifically the TV licence fee, Lineker made a pointed note to the corporation’s top brass in today’s interview with Rajan saying: ““The BBC tries to appease the people that hate the BBC… rather than worrying about the people that love the BBC, which is the vast majority because the BBC is a wonderful institution.”
