Football fans will see a very different Match of the Day after Gary Lineker leaves his post as the show’s presenter after 26 years. Lineker is poised to leave the BBC following his final episode on Saturday after 26 years at the helm, with plans for him to host next year’s World Cup coverage now scrapped.

The 64-year-old broadcaster was expected to leave at the season’s end and still cover the World Cup and live FA Cup matches for the 2025/26 season, but his departure from the BBC will now cease this weekend. It follows a social mediarepost which criticised Israel’s war against Hamas, which has seen thousands of innocent people including children killed in retaliation for an October 7 attack by Hamas.

He said: “Football has been at the heart of my life for as long as I can remember – both on the pitch and in the studio.

“I care deeply about the game, and about the work I’ve done with the BBC over many years. As I’ve said, I would never consciously repost anything antisemitic – it goes against everything I stand for.

“However, I recognise the error and upset that I caused, and reiterate how sorry I am. Stepping back now feels like the responsible course of action.”

The controversial Instagram post about Zionism and the conflict in Palestine featured an image of a rat, historically associated with antisemitic tropes.

Despite issuing an apology and insisting he would never intentionally share antisemitic content, BBC chiefs have reportedly found Lineker’s position with them to be untenable.

Lineker has been in the spotlight recently not just for his professional endeavours but also for personal matters, including the hefty BBC salary he’s about to relinquish and his romantic life, both attracting public attention.

As he gears up to part ways with the BBC, here’s a glimpse into the life of the presenter beyond the glitz of the studio.

Net worth

Lineker’s departure from the BBC will mean he will have to forego an eye-watering salary, which for the last seven years has placed him at the top of the corporation’s earnings list.

The June report from last year disclosed that for 2023/2024, the host pocketed between £1,300,000 and £1,354,999, placing him at the apex of the BBC pay scale.

The Daily Mail reported that Lineker, though willing to remain the face of Match of the Day even after this season, had at one point suggested accepting a substantial reduction in payment, to the tune of around £350,000.

Back in 2019, his hefty £1.75 million pay-check from the Beeb was dubbed “outrageous” by veteran BBC broadcaster John Humphrys.

Despite being lauded as one of football’s most illustrious players and an England international legend, it’s his career on television that’s been the main contributor to Lineker’s fortune, particularly since his playing days ended before the Premier League’s cash boom.

Adding to his income streams, Lineker’s flourishing podcast network, Goalhanger Podcasts, is proving lucrative, showing an impressive profit of £1.4 million just earlier this year.

With his diverse business endeavours, Lineker’s worth is believed to hover around £30million

Relationships

With his grey fox good looks, athletic physique and charming personality, it’s no wonder Lineker’s romantic pursuits have come under the spotlight.

His relationship history has often grabbed the headlines, with the sports presenter acknowledging that one particular relationship in his history might be deemed as “weird” by some.

The ex-England striker first tied the knot with Michelle Cockayne in 1986, and the pair share four sons, George, Harry, Tobias, and Angus.

After two decades together, the marriage came to an end when Cockayne filed for divorce in 2006, citing Lineker’s supposed “unreasonable behaviour” which allegedly left her suffering from “stress and anxiety”.

Just a couple of years following his split from Cockayne, Lineker was introduced to Welsh performer and model Danielle Bux through mutual acquaintances, leading to their nuptials in 2009. Their union ended in 2016, reportedly over Lineker’s reluctance to have more children.

Bux later welcomed a baby girl with US lawyer Nate Greenwald in 2017 and they wed in 2019.

Despite this, Lineker maintains there’s no discomfort between him, Bux, or Greenwald, revealing he’s regularly seen dining with the pair during trips to Los Angeles.

“We get on really well. We go out for dinner when I’m in LA. It might be unusual and people might go, ‘That’s weird’ but, frankly, I don’t care,” Lineker said.

“What is normal? Is it better to get divorced and end up fighting, screaming and shouting? Or is it better to get on if you can?”.

In a candid chat with The Times, the presenter disclosed his current single status, sharing: “I like being on my own”.

“I know it sounds a bit mad,” he continued. “I have lots of company. I’ve got lots of friends and I’ve also got my boys… I don’t feel lonely. I have the odd date here and there but nothing serious in terms of a long relationship.”

Reflecting on his personal life, Lineker went on: “I’ve been married most of my adult life. Two really good marriages, I’m friends with both. I’m not saying whether it’ll change. It might do. I don’t know. But at the minute I’m very comfortable.”

Since then, Lineker has been observed in the company of Jemima Goldsmith, former spouse of ex-cricketer and erstwhile Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan. Despite this sighting, rumours regarding any romantic link were quickly put to rest.

Health fears

Regarding his health, Lineker is highly mindful and does not shy away from voicing his worries about the potential consequences of his football career, particularly the risk of developing conditions such as dementia or Parkinson’s disease.

Several former professional footballers, including Nobby Stiles, Jack Charlton, and Martin Peters have passed away after battling dementia, a fact that plays heavily on Lineker’s mind.

Research from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has highlighted that ex-footballers are 50 per cent more likely to suffer from dementia compared to the general population.

Lineker, who had already been wary of the dangers of heading the ball, took steps early in his career to minimise the risk.

“Any footballer should be apprehensive and I don’t mind admitting that I am,” Lineker previously revealed. “I headed the ball a lot as a kid – and when I was 20, 21, I made a conscious decision not to do it in training.

“We’d get wet, heavy balls in the winter months – we didn’t get new balls every week like they do now – and it was something I was concerned about, as I was a player who scored a lot of headers.”

Lineker, who netted 32 goals with his head during his playing days, also discussed the issue with fellow footballers.

“I’ve had conversations with Alan Shearer and Ian Wright and others about the worry that, come 10, 15 years, that it might happen to one of us. The odds suggest that it probably will.”

In 2022, he spoke about his proactive approach to monitoring his health.

“I’ll have my tri-annual test this summer and ask if there’s anything they can establish around the brain, because I don’t see how, given the circumstances, any footballer wouldn’t be worried about it. It’s a worry. I don’t mind admitting that it concerns me. There’s no question there’s a link.”

Lineker’s personal connection to neurodegenerative disease through his grandfather, who also played football and succumbed to Parkinson’s disease, adds a poignant note to his advocacy on the matter.

“My grandfather was in the army but a very good footballer, too,” he shared with the Daily Mail. “He was in his mid-50s when he developed Parkinson’s. We didn’t think of why at the time.”

Lineker went on to discuss health concerns during an interview with The Sun, where he mentioned a prostate cancer “scare” experienced during a routine medical examination: “I have a full body check every couple of years and I did have one prostate scare.

“It’s important to get ahead of it and a lot of men, we sometimes think, ‘I’m all right’. We don’t want to see doctors. But that’s a dangerous game. We are all a little bit scared of having something and I think it’s fair to share that.”

Recalling his playing days, Lineker recounted a period in 1988 when he represented England and initially feared the worst about his health – concerns which turned out to be hepatitis, as documented in his memoir Behind Closed Doors: Life, Laughs and Football.”I started to notice something was wrong during the European Championships in the summer of 1988. In our second game we played… I felt considerably more ill – heavy-limbed and aching. There didn’t seem to be any explanation for it.

“I was also losing weight – about a stone and a half, it would eventually emerge. I quietly wondered if I had Aids. I managed to frighten myself with the thought.”