Gary Lineker was forced to accept his removal as Match of the Day host in a victory for BBC bosses – but insiders warned that plans to revamp the flagship football show could prompt a backlash from fans.
The BBC confirmed that the corporation’s highest-paid star, earning more than £1.3m, will step down from the Saturday night show at the end of this season.
A contract extension, described as a “classic BBC fudge”, will allow Lineker to front the BBC’s coverage of the FA Cup in the 2025/26 season. He will bow out by hosting BBC Sports’ coverage of the 2026 World Cup in North America, Canada and Mexico.
The compromise, following weeks of negotiation, was designed to give the 63 year-old a dignified exit after BBC Director-General Tim Davie and new head of Sport, Alex Kay-Jelski, rejected Lineker’s offer to discuss continuing as MoTD presenter for a further two years, at a reduced salary.
Insiders said the writing had been on the wall for the former England star since he was taken off air last year for an episode, after a social media message compared the then-Tory Government’s asylum policy to Nazi Germany.
One staffer said: “It’s a late victory for the bosses. It looked to many like Gary was given free rein to vent political views on social media which would have got the rest of us sacked. Perhaps after the Edwards affair, the management are serious about keeping a tighter grip on talent.”
There was also internal frustration that Lineker’s lucrative Goalhanger podcasting business was driving audiences away from the BBC. The Rest Is Football, presented by Lineker with fellow MoTD pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, accumulated 20m downloads during Euro 24, boosted by the former England players’ scathing assessment of the national team’s early performances.
The conclusion of Lineker’s five-year contract in 2025 and the urgent need to make savings to protect the sports rights budget, gave Kay-Jelski an opportunity to move on from the presenter, under the guise of a MoTD “refresh” to expand the brand’s digital reach.
An insider said: “Premier League goals are on YouTube minutes after the final whistle. It’s not just about Saturday nights now. Match of the Day has to evolve and future-proof itself for the next generation of younger viewers.”
The leak of an email, said to have originated from Kay-Jelski, which contained a draft press release announcing Lineker’s imminent departure, was seen as an indication that BBC management was playing “hardball” over the negotiations.
Cutting Lineker’s role was easier to do under a Labour government, another staffer said. “Politically, it would have looked like the BBC caving in to Tory pressure. Now it’s a tough but sensible business move.”
Lineker’s pay will be significantly reduced under the contract extension. He will no longer be paid for presenting BBC Sports Personality of the Year, after deciding to step down from the event after 23 years.
However, the BBC has agreed a deal with Goalhanger that The Rest Is Football episodes will now run on its BBC Sounds platform, as well as Spotify and Apple.
Match of the Day 2 anchor Mark Chapman was installed as the bookies’ favourite to take the job, ahead of former England international footballer turned broadcaster Alex Scott. Experienced sports presenter Gabby Logan, who has presented the show in Lineker’s absence and Sky Sports’ Kelly Cates are also in the frame.
However BBC sources suggested one of Kay-Jelski’s innovations could be to use a rotating line-up of anchors instead of one star performer.
One executive said the new Lineker deal was “a classic BBC fudge that happens to suit both sides. Gary continues and will be important for the World Cup; while the Director of Sport gets his chance to relaunch Match of the Day”.
The figure advised Kay-Jelski, a former newspaper sports editor, to be cautious about revamping the format, which still attracts millions of loyal fans. “There could be limits to how far you can reinvent MoTD and Alex does not come from a traditional TV background,” he said.
One insider raised the spectre of ITV’s move to poach Premier League highlights, and presenter Des Lynam, from the BBC in 2001. A radical plan to show games at 7pm was abandoned inside three months due to poor viewing figures. The programme, mocked for innovations like a “tactics truck”, was moved to the traditional post-10pm Saturday night MoTD slot.
Asked about moves to oust him, Lineker’s representatives had invoked Operation Shrimp, a failed 1977 coup attempt in Benin, when French mercenaries tried to remove Mathieu Kérékou, the African nation’s revolutionary communist party leader. Gaining advance knowledge of his assailants’ intentions, he resisted the attack.
However, once MoTD was taken off the table, discussions with Lineker advanced in a constructive manner, i understands.
Allies of Lineker said the final deal was genuinely a mutual agreement. “He could have carried on but he’s done a lot of years going to Manchester and getting back at 3am,” a friend said.
Presenting the BBC’s portfolio of live men’s football – the FA Cup and World Cup – would still give Lineker plenty of on-screen prominence.
Whilst Lineker could find a new role presenting English-language Premier League coverage for international broadcasters, he might prefer to spend his free Saturday afternoon watching his beloved Leicester City, the person suggested.
Lineker said: “I’m delighted to continue my long association with BBC Sport and would like to thank all those who made this happen.”
Kay-Jelski, says: “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.”
Whilst the leaked email included a quote paying tribute to Lineker from Tim Davie, there were no words from the Director-General in the official announcement.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said most of the nation who had watched Gary Lineker for 25 years had “felt the joy his presenting has brought to football fans”.
“We owe him an enormous amount,” she told i. She added that the BBC makes “big efforts to be impartial” adding that the broadcaster is “held to a higher standard but has always been fair and even handed”.
She said: “Gary Lineker is neither here nor there on the question of impartiality – he has been a credit to the nation.”
The BBC said of Match of the Day’s future: “The show continually evolves for changing viewing habits bringing its unique and unmatched analysis and commentary across all platforms. Future plans for Match of the Day will be announced in due course.”
Additional reporting by Richard Vaughan
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