BBC release Gary Lineker statement as Match of the Day exit confirmed

Gary Lineker's departure from Match of the Day has been confirmed by the BBC.

The 63-year-old former England striker has presented the flagship Premier League highlights show since 1999, but will step down at the end of the 2024/25 season.

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Lineker will remain as part of the BBC's football coverage for another 18 months, before cutting all ties with the corporation.

He has agreed a contract extension and will stay on to present their FA Cup coverage next season and the 2026 World Cup.

But he will not present Match of the Day beyond the 2024/25 season, after the BBC decided not to offer him a new contract for the programme.

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

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Alex Kay-Jelski, Director of BBC Sport, 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's contract had been a talking point for some time, given he commanded more than £1.3 million a year at the BBC, its highest declared salary for a presenter.

Speculation over his future has increased in recent months, with Lineker's social media usage sparking a backlash in some quarters.

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In March last year, Lineker was briefly suspended from hosting MOTD after a Twitter post about the British government's asylum policy prompted a row about BBC presenters expressing political views on social media.

Shearer's fellow presenters and pundits, including Alan Shearer and Ian Wright, refused to appear on the show in solidarity with Lineker and it was reduced to a 20-minute highlights package, which contained no hosts, pundits or commentary. Lineker was reinstated to the programme just over a week later.

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Lineker replaced Des Lynam in the MOTD role in 1999 after moving into punditry and presenting following his playing career.

His BBC tenure has also included work for Radio 5 Live, They Think It’s All Over and Grandstand.

Lineker also fronted the BBC's Olympics coverage at the 2012 Games in London.

He even had a brief stint as part of the broadcaster’s golf coverage, fronting live action from the Masters and The Open.

Lineker's exit comes just a month after he made a cheeky joke about his future on Match of the Day.

After suggestions he would announce his departure sooner rather than later, he could not resist poking fun at the speculation.

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Opening the show, Lineker said: "Hello, seven games on the way and it’s my final show… before the international break."

His final show for real will now come on the final day of the Premier League season on May 25, 2025.

It remains to be seen who will succeed Lineker in the role but whoever does will have big shoes to fill, says Danny Murphy.

Reacting to the news, BBC colleague Murphy said on talkSPORT's Kick Off show: "I didn't know [he was leaving].

"I knew the contract was up at the end of the season. So there's been a lot of talk about it. I am a little bit surprised.

"Gary's a friend of mine and he's been phenomenal to me since the day I walked in the building. And a warm, charismatic, intelligent man who knows his football and has become part of everybody's furniture, if you like, on a Saturday evening.

"I'll just tell you quickly, I mean, from my first… I'd done a few shows and he was always great.

"In my first tournament, I was thrust into the World Cup in Brazil really quickly. And it was quite daunting as Alan Hansen was there, Alan Shearer, you know, a lot of these people who I'd looked up to. And between Gary and Alan, and Gary especially was the first one to always, even if I wasn't working on the same show as him, leave me a message saying, 'we're going to be eating here, we're going to be in this bar, we're going to be in this hotel. Come and meet us, get a cab to there, we'll be there.'

"You know, all those type of little things that brought me in. And I'll never forget how he treated me and how welcome he made me, how good he made me feel.

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"And just a very intelligent football man, loves his football. You know, him and his sons, they all love the football as well. And he's doing so many good things.

"He's getting on a bit, just because he looks good for his age doesn't mean he isn't old. He's getting tired in his old age, probably wants to just cook his Sunday roast."