Gary Lineker Match of the Day exit confirmed as official statement released
by Stephen Killen · football.londonMatch of the Day presenter Gary Lineker will step down from the BBC flagship programme but will continue to head the channel's football coverage. The former footballer, who counts the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City and Barcelona as clubs on his CV, has been in the hotseat since 1999 but he will leave after not being offered a new contract at the broadcaster.
The 63-year-old will leave the programme but will continue to head their FA Cup and World Cup coverage, despite claims that he was open to continuing as host of the Premier League highlights show. Lineker has been a face of the coverage for 26 years and has spearheaded the BBC's coverage of the FA Cup and international competitions, such as the World Cup and European Championships.
Lineker is among the company's highest-paid employees, of those who are declared, earning more than £1.3million a year. BBC News reported that the former forward has agreed on a new contract which will leave after the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan and Alex Scott are all front-runners to replace Lineker on MOTD. In a statement on Tuesday Lineker confirmed he will extend his contract under a different circumstances, saying: "I’m delighted to continue my long association with BBC Sport and would like to thank all those who made this happen."
Alex Kay-Jelski, Director of BBC Sport, added: "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."
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Since hanging up his boots, the footballer made a seamless transition into broadcasting. He has headed numerous landmark footballing events for the BBC but featured on other projects including US network NBC and BT Sport (now TNT Sport).
Goalhanger, the production company that he co-founded, has become one of the hubs for podcasts across the world including The Rest is Football, The Rest is History and The Rest is Politics.
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