Gary Lineker is departing BBC‘s flagship soccer series “Match of the Day,” but has extended his contract with the broadcaster through the 2026 World Cup.
Lineker, the broadcaster’s highest-paid presenter who has hosted the show since 1999, will bow out after the end of this season in May 2025.
“I’m delighted to continue my long association with BBC Sport and would like to thank all those who made this happen,” Lineker said in a statement.
News of Lineker’s departure from “Match of the Day” comes after reports last month that he had entered into new contract negotiations with the BBC. He has been the broadcaster’s highest earner for several years, raking in approximately £1.35 million ($1.74 million) between 2020 and 2021.
His payday has earned criticism over the years, as have his outspoken political views. In March of last year, Lineker got into hot water when he commented on the U.K.’s controversial Illegal Migration Bill on social media, calling it an an “immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s.”
In response, the BBC determined that he had breached their social media guidelines and Lineker was required to step back from hosting for several days.
However, at a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch in February, Lineker said that he didn’t feel restrained by the broadcaster when it came to expressing his opinions.
“I think I’ve tweeted now like I’ve always done, i.e. sensibly,” he said. “I know the guidelines inside out, and the new guidelines actually allow you more freedom to tweet. We’re allowed opinions on stuff.”
