Gary Lineker's Match of the Day future in doubt as he issues major career update (original) (raw)

Gary Lineker has fronted Match of the Day for an incredible 25 years, but the footie pundit has now revealed he's unsure how long he'll remain at the helm of the BBC programme

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BBC Breakfast welcomed football legend Gary Lineker to its Wednesday morning show to discuss his future with Match of the Day.

Gary opened up to sports correspondent John Watson about his illustrious journey, from leading the England squad in the nineties to becoming a national treasure as a pundit. However, his long-running tenure on the show, which started in 1992, might be drawing to a close.

During the chat, John queried, "How long do you see yourself continuing on Match of the Day? " leaving Gary momentarily lost for words before confessing, "I don't... I don't know!"

"It depends how long they want me, I suppose. I love doing it at the moment; I've still got another year left, at least," Gary added, reports the Express. He further explained: "So we'll have to wait and see what happens. Obviously it's another change in football and television and the rights of the Premier League and stuff like that.

"All of these things will play a part. But I just feel it's been an absolute privilege to have presented it for 25 years now. I must be getting old!"

Gary Lineker's BBC future is in doubt (

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(Image: BBC))

Gary also touched on the complexities of managing the concise segments on Match of the Day and the potential impact of losing the programme's rights to ITV. Reflecting on the past, he remarked, "When it came back, when we got the rights back, I said, 'Is there any way we could show all the games?'

"We found a way of doing it and I thought, 'Right, we finally won't get people moaning that they're never on Match of the Day, but of course then it becomes about where they are on Match of the Day, on the running order! We're always last."

Gary referred to the programme as the "toughest" he's ever been part of, significantly harder than live football coverage where commentators can take it easy during intervals.

John Watson chatted to Gary (

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(Image: BBC))

He divulged, "When we do live games you've got much more time, especially on the Beeb because you've got no adverts. At half-time and the end of the game you have plenty of time to chat without any breaks, and you can go off on one. But you can't do that on Match of the Day."

This revelation comes hot on the heels of the disclosure of Gary's BBC salary, which put him atop the list of the corporation's highest paid personalities. Gary's earning scale for 2024 was pegged at £1,350,000-£1,354,999, putting him ahead of Zoe Ball, under-fire presenter Huw Edwards and Greg James.

Fiona Bruce topped the list of the highest-paid female presenters with her £405,000 salary, surpassing Lauren Laverne and Naga Munchetty.