Gary Lineker is set to play out the final moments of his Match of the Day career through gritted teeth thanks to the misfortunes of boyhood club Leicester City. It was announced last year that Lineker would leave the BBC’s flagship football highlights programme at the end of this season.
The former England striker has been at the helm since 1999, and he is being replaced by a trio of presenters on a rotating basis. Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan only have two matches of the Premier League campaign remaining to pick up on pointers before they take to the hot seat themselves.
Lineker has largely avoided a sour exit from MOTD, having said he feels ‘the time is right’ to move on. But the round-up of Premier League action on May 25 will leave a bitter taste in his mouth when he and his fellow pundits cast one last eye over the final standings.
Leicester’s relegation was confirmed with a defeat at home to Liverpool on April 20, granting them a one-way ticket to the Championship with five matches to go. And Lineker will be forced to confront that fact during his end-of-season review.
Sombre talk of the Foxes’ relegation will come in sharp contrast to the first MOTD episode of the 2016/17 season, which Lineker presented in his underpants after Leicester’s fairytale title win the previous year.
At 64 years old, Lineker has warned viewers not to expect to see him snapped up by rival TV channels once he leaves the Beeb. “I don’t think you’ll see me doing much football, apart from the podcast,” he told FourFourTwo. “I’ll do the odd thing, but I don’t think you’ll see me appearing regularly on another channel.
“We’ve had talks with Sky at various points, but I always wanted to stick with the BBC. I could have earned a lot more, though I know I’ve been well paid anyway, obviously. I’ve had offers to go elsewhere but I just loved being with the BBC, and also how it helps everything else you do.”
It was on his podcast, The Rest is Football, that Lineker shed light on the thought process that led to him stepping down from MOTD. He said: “They’ve got the rights for another three years, the cycle starts from next season so it felt like if I just do one more year it would be a bit weird.
“I bowed out in my football career when I felt it was the right time. I feel this is now the right time. I think the next contract they’re looking to do Match of the Day slightly differently, so I think it makes sense for someone else to take the helm.”