Gary Lineker is set to leave Match of the Day at the end of this season unless the BBC renews his contract
(Image: Ian Walton/PA Wire)

Gary Lineker Match of the Day future update emerges after BBC contract statement

by · Manchester Evening News

Gary Lineker has refused to rule out this season being his last on Match of the Day after acknowledging that he will eventually have to reduce his workload.

Lineker, 63, has hosted the Premier League highlights programme since 1999, taking over from Des Lynam to become the face of the BBC's football coverage. However, he launched The Rest is Football podcast last year, which he hosts twice weekly.

His production company, Goalhanger, produces and distributes episodes featuring co-hosts Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, who also regularly appear as pundits on Match of the Day. Lineker and Shearer's contracts with the corporation are due to expire at the end of this season, and the former has openly spoken about his future.

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During an interview with Esquire conducted in early August for their recently released Winter edition, Lineker addressed the possibility of quitting Match of the Day and going full-time with Goalhanger. "I could do, "he said. "Whether that will be the case, I don't know. At some point, I have to slow down somewhere… I'm getting old."

That same month, BBC Breakfast asked Lineker how long he sees himself continuing to host the programme. "I don't... I don't know! Depends on how long they want me, I suppose," he said. "I love doing it at the moment; I've still got another year left, at least."

Then, last month, on his The Rest is Football podcast, Lineker confirmed in response to renewed speculation about his future: "I am coming to the end of my contract in the summer, so it's natural at some point that you have to have conversations, and they've just started."

The BBC shared the following statement days earlier: "We have nothing to announce, and we have not agreed on the next steps regarding his contract. He is under contract until the end of the season."