Gary Lineker: Host to leave BBC's Match Of The Day at end of football season, reports say

The former England striker, who has been at the forefront of the Premier League show since 1999, will step down at the end of the current football season, according to Sky News.

An official announcement is expected from the BBC on Tuesday (November 12). The reports also said the presenter is to leave the BBC after leading its coverage of the 2026 World Cup.

At 63, the presenter is one of the BBC's most prominent figures and its highest-paid star among those with publicly disclosed salaries, earning over £1.3 million annually.

Born in 1960 in Leicester, Lineker began his football career with Leicester City. He then played for several top clubs, including Everton, Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur, and Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan.

On the international stage, Lineker earned 80 caps for the England national team, scoring 48 goals. He is particularly remembered for winning the Golden Boot at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, where he was the tournament's top scorer with six goals.

After retiring from professional football in 1994, Lineker went into broadcasting. He became the host of the BBC's Match of the Day in 1999, a role he has held for over two decades.

In March 2023, Lineker was suspended from the BBC show after criticising the UK government's asylum policy on social media, describing it as "immeasurably cruel" and comparing the language used to that of 1930s Germany.

The suspension prompted several colleagues to boycott the programme in solidarity, resulting in a truncated broadcast without presenters or commentators. Following public backlash, the BBC reinstated Lineker and announced a review of its social media guidelines.