BBC Match of the Day presenter to leave at end of season

Broadcaster Gary Lineker will step down as presenter of iconic football show Match of the Day at the end of this season, BBC News has learned.

The BBC is expected to officially announce his departure on Tuesday.

The sun, who first reported the storyHe also said the presenter would leave the BBC after leading coverage of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Lineker’s representative has been contacted for comment. The BBC press office declined to comment.

Lineker, whose contract was coming to an end, began negotiations with the BBC’s new sporting director in October.

BBC News understands that Lineker was keen to remain on Match of the Day, but the BBC did not offer him a new contract for the show.

The 63-year-old has hosted Match of the Day since 1999. He will have been in the role for 26 years when he leaves at the end of the Premier League season in May 2025.

Lineker told Esquire magazine in an interview published earlier this month that he accepted that he “will have to slow down at some point.”

Earlier this year, the presenter joked about speculation he could leave the BBC. He opened the Match of the Day broadcast by saying it was his “last show.” After a pause, he added “before the international break.”

Lineker is one of the corporation’s best-known presenters and its highest-paid star, among those whose salaries are declared, earning more than £1.3 million a year.

He has also presented coverage of major tournaments such as the World Cups and European Championships for the BBC, as well as BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremonies.

Lineker has worked for other sports networks during his time at the BBC, including US broadcaster NBC and BT Sport (now TNT Sport). He has also branched out into podcasts and co-founded the production company Goalhanger, which produces popular shows such as The Rest is History, The Rest is Politics and The Rest is Entertainment.

Alastair Campbell, co-host of The Rest Is Politics podcast, said Lineker would be “a very difficult act to follow”, Sky News reported.

“He’s an excellent broadcaster and a very good guy,” Campbell said.

Lineker’s new contract has already been agreed and will start at the top of the most important tournament in world football. But replacing a star host on a high-profile show is always a risk.

Some fans have suggested that Match of Day 2 presenter Mark Chapman should take on the role, but other football presenters, including Gabby Logan and Alex Scott, are also on fans’ lists as possible successors.

Lineker has been involved in controversy at the BBC due to his social media activity.

He was briefly suspended by his bosses last year after an outcry over a post about the UK’s asylum policy.

The incident led to a review of the BBC’s social media guidelines, which concluded that high-profile presenters should be allowed to express opinions on issues and policies, but not engage in political campaigning.

Lineker then called the new rules “very sensible.”

Before becoming a television presenter, Lineker had a highly successful career as a striker with England, as well as Leicester, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona.