Gary Lineker to leave Match Of The Day

Gary Lineker will leave the BBC’s flagship Match Of the Day programme at the end of the current football season.

Lineker will stay on to present the FA Cup next season, as well as the World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada the summer after that, as part of an 18-month contract extension. He will continue to host the MOTD Top Ten podcast and the Rest Is Football podcast on BBC Sounds following his Match Of The Day departure. The Sun originally reported that he will leave the BBC at the end of this contract. 

It is unknown who would replace the presenter on Match Of The Day, who has hosted the well-known Premier League highlights show since 1999. Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan, Jason Mohammad, and Alex Scott have all regularly presented football coverage on the BBC, or the broadcaster could decide to look outside of its current lineup.

Lineker’s contract was coming to an end this summer, but had reportedly been in negotiations since October with the BBC’s new director of sport, Alex Kay-Jelski, about staying on with the broadcaster. Kay-Jelski joined the BBC this summer, after previously setting up the international arm of subscription-based sport website The Athletic. He took over from Barbara Slater, who had retired after 14 years in the role.

Lineker is the highest paid presenter of those whose wages are declared by the BBC, earning over £1.3m, and his departure comes as the BBC continues to have to make cuts - with 500 roles to be shed this year. His new contract is thought to, “significantly” reduce his salary, according to the original The Sun reporting.

He has been at the centre of controversy related to his social media use in recent years. In 2023, a row over his criticism of the then Conservative government led to the BBC announcing he would be stepping back from Match Of The Day, before reinstating him after fellow presenters, commentators and pundits went on strike in protest - which led to the show and Match Of The Day 2 having to be broadcast without any presentation or commentary over matches for one weekend.

In addition to Match Of The Day, Lineker has also been the main presenter for the BBC’s coverage of the England men’s team at World Cups and European Championships, and has hosted BBC Sports Personality Of The Year. He has also worked for other broadcasters, including presenting the Champions League on what was then BT Sport, now known as TNT Sports, and working with LaLigaTV.

Kay-Jelski said: “Gary is a world-class presenter, and we’re delighted that he’ll lead our coverage of the next World Cup and continue to lead our live coverage of the FA Cup.

“After 25 seasons Gary is stepping down from MOTD. We want to thank him for everything he has done for the show, which continues to attract millions of viewers each week. He’ll be hugely missed on the show but we’re so happy he is staying with the BBC to present live football.”

Lineker added: “I’m delighted to continue my long association with BBC Sport and would like to thank all those who made this happen.”