Gary Lineker is to leave Match Of The Day after 25 years, Sky News understands.
The former England striker will step down at the end of the current football season in May 2025.
It is understood he will stay at the BBC until the end of the next World Cup which is being held in the US, Mexico and Canada in 2026.
This is an extension to Lineker’s contract, that was due to expire next year, to take him until the 2026 World Cup.
Image: Gary Lineker on Match of the Day in 2018. Pic: BBC/Pete Dadds
His departure from the long-running show was earlier reported by The Sun.
Lineker has hosted the Premier League highlights show since 1999, after his predecessor Des Lynam moved to ITV.
Lineker was briefly removed from Match Of The Day in March 2023 following controversy over comments he made on social media criticising the then Conservative government’s asylum policies.
The row prompted the BBC to launch an independent review of its social media guidelines and Lineker returned to screens soon after.
But the 63-year-old may stay on at the BBC after 2026 working on podcasts – an area where Lineker has been hugely successful in recent years.
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The presenter is the co-founder of Goalhanger Podcasts, which produces popular shows The Rest Is History, The Rest Is Politics and The Rest Is Entertainment.
The company, founded in 2014, claims to be the UK’s largest independent podcast firm, and said in September that its podcasts had been downloaded more than 380 million times so far this year.
Lineker presents his own footballing podcast with Goalhanger, The Rest Is Football, alongside Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.
Image: Micah Richards, Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker, who present the podcast The Rest Is Footballl. Pic: AP
Lineker has been the BBC’s highest-paid star in recent years for his work on shows including Match Of The Day and Sports Personality Of The Year, as well as coverage of major tournaments including World Cups and European Championships.
The corporation has said it is not commenting on the matter.
It is unclear who will take over from Lineker on Match Of The Day. Former Tottenham Hotspur footballer Jermaine Jenas was considered to be his natural successor but he was sacked from the BBC in August over claims of inappropriate behaviour.
Ex Labour communications chief Alastair Campbell, who presents The Rest Is Politics with former Conservative MP Rory Stewart, said Lineker would be “a very hard act to follow”.
“He is an excellent broadcaster and a very good guy,” Campbell told Sky News.
Image: Alastair Campbell on Sky News this evening
The political commentator also joked that Lineker “sees me as his natural successor… as long as I’m allowed to wear my Burnley ties”.
Image: Lineker with his Footballer of the Year Award, presented to him by the Football Writers Association in 1995. Pic: PA
Before moving into broadcasting, Lineker enjoyed a successful career as a striker, winning 80 caps for England. He also played for Leicester City, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona.
A 53-year-old man has been charged after a car was driven into a crowd at Liverpool FC’s trophy parade.
Paul Doyle, from the West Derby area of Liverpool, has been charged with seven offences, Merseyside Police said.
The businessman, who is a father-of-three, is accused of two counts of unlawful and malicious wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and two counts of causing unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Image: Paul Doyle
Doyle is also accused of two counts of attempted unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and one count of dangerous driving.
He is due to appear before Liverpool Magistrates Court on Friday.
The charges relate to six people, including two children. A wounding charge and an attempted grievous bodily harm charge relate to a child.
A police car was outside Doyle’s four-bedroom detached family home in the West Derby area on Thursday morning.
According to his social media, he has travelled extensively including Japan, Fiji, India and Australia. Doyle has posted pictures of himself competing in triathlons, and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
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0:43
New Liverpool incident footage
Thousands of fans were gathered in Liverpool city centre on Monday to celebrate the Premier League champions’ title win when a car struck a crowd on Water Street.
Police said a total of 79 people were injured in the incident, with the youngest aged nine, and the oldest being a 78-year-old.
Seven people remain in hospital in a stable condition.
Image: Forensic officers at the scene in Water Street. Pic: PA
‘Huge volume of evidence’
Chief crown prosecutor for the CPS Mersey-Cheshire, Sarah Hammond, told a news conference on Thursday that the investigation was at an early stage and a “huge volume of evidence” was being reviewed.
“This includes multiple pieces of video footage and numerous witness statements. It is important to ensure that every victim gets the justice they deserve.
“The charges will be kept under review as the investigation progresses.”
Police ‘working tirelessly’
Also at the briefing where the charges were announced was Assistant Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, Jenny Sims, who said: “I fully understand how this incident has left us all shocked and saddened, and I know many will continue to have concerns and questions.
“Our detectives are working tirelessly, with diligence and professionalism, to seek the answer to all of those questions. When we are able to, we will provide further information.”
A body has been found in the search for a missing teenage girl who fell into a reservoir, police have said.
West Yorkshire Police confirmed they recovered a body from the Baitings Reservoir, near Ripponden, on Thursday afternoon.
A formal identification is yet to take place, but police believe the body to be that of the missing teenage girl.
The girl’s family have been informed.
Emergency services were called to the reservoir at 1.17pm on Wednesday following reports that a teenage girl had fallen into the water from Baitings Dam.
Police, fire and ambulance crews, as well as an underwater search team, were deployed to the scene for the search, which continued on Thursday until a body was found.
Detective Inspector Laura Hall of Calderdale’s Safeguarding Team said: “While formal identification is yet to take place, the girl’s family have been informed and are being supported by specially-trained officers.
“My thoughts go out to her family and friends at this very sad time.
“Our enquiries are continuing into the death in order to establish exactly what happened yesterday, but we do not believe it to be suspicious.”
Officers have until Thursday evening to question the man from West Derby.
He is in custody on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and drug driving.
Police believe the car which struck pedestrians was able to follow an ambulance crew attending to someone suffering a heart attack after a road block was temporarily lifted.
Hundreds of thousands of Liverpool fans had turned out to celebrate their team’s Premier League title when the incident unfolded on Water Street just after 6pm on Monday.
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6:53
‘My boy in his pram, got bounced’
‘The best day of my life turned into worst’
Sky News interviewed a lifelong Liverpool fan who said his five-month-old son was “bounced” 15ft (4.6m) in his pram after they were hit by the vehicle.
The child was not counted in the police’s injury tally.
Daniel Eveson, 36, also said his partner had been driven over.
“The best day of my life turned into [the] worst,” Mr Eveson said.
He added: “Me and my partner were flat on the roof, on the bonnet… we were just both trying to hold on for dear life with Ted next to us.
“And my partner went under the wheels of the car, of the front of the car, and it rolled over her leg, and I just bounced off to the side, but my boy and his pram got bounced totally in the opposite direction – about 15ft down the road.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer travelled to Liverpool to meet with police chiefs and the local metro mayor.
He said he was being kept informed of developments, adding: “The scenes on Monday were just awful, to see how incredible joy at an amazing achievement turned to horror in a moment.”
Messages of support have been sent to the people of Liverpool, including from the King who said: “I know that the strength of community spirit for which your city is renowned will be a comfort and support to those in need.”