Gary Lineker chuckles at the thought of retiring as the host of Match of the Day. It simply isn’t on his radar.
“I’m still a spring chicken, really,” the 63-year-old tells Standard Sport. “I don’t see myself retiring at the moment.
“I really love what I do - football has been an ever-present in my life. It’s a real privilege to be able to present such an iconic show.”
The former Tottenham, Barcelona and England striker has presented the BBC’s flagship Premier League highlights programme since replacing Des Lynam in 1999.
“In sports television, you can never look too far ahead anyway, because of the nature of television rights,” Lineker says.
“You suddenly lose the contract and there’s no sport for you to cover. There obviously has to be a point when I call it a day, and I totally understand speculation about who else might do the role - but they might have to wait a little bit longer.”
Jermaine Jenas had long been tipped as a natural successor to Lineker, but he was sacked by the BBC last month following complaints about workplace conduct.
“I don’t really know what has happened there,” Lineker says. “I don’t know the ins and outs. I think it would be unfair to comment.”
Lineker, who again topped the BBC pay list in 2023-24 by earning more than £1.35million for his presenting duties across the national broadcaster, remains fiercely proud of the institution of Match of the Day, which is celebrating its 60th year.
“It’s extraordinary; it’s bucking the trend,” he says. “A lot of people don’t have Sky or TNT and still get their Premier League fix from Match of the Day.
“We’ve got a good audience on a Saturday night - not as big as it used to be - and now people watch it when they want on iPlayer. It’s the No1 programme on iPlayer almost every week. It shows how iconic it is.
“Football has been great for television and television has been great for football. The Premier League has become a global monster, and the improvements in its coverage have been staggering.”
Lineker also hosts The Rest Is Football podcast, made by Goalhanger Podcasts, alongside Match of the Day colleagues Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.
“We'll go with the stories,” he says of the podcast’s new season. “And we’ll have a laugh while doing it.”
A debate about the virtues and drawbacks of punditry was thrown up during Euro 2024 when, after England laboured to a 1-1 draw with Denmark, Lineker called their performance “sh*t” on an episode of his podcast.
“You've got to be honest, frank, entertaining and fair - I think we were all those things,” he says looking back.
“There’s no question at all, it was deliberately used by people who were trying to create a divide between us on television and the players. But we know the players, and they absolutely have no problem with it at all.
“We were talking to them after the final against Spain and they were saying the things that we were saying on the TV and on the podcast. The truth is: players know when they’ve not played well. They don’t expect us to say they’re really good when they weren’t.
Given the players we’ve got now, we want a more attack-minded coach
“Every little thing you say now is a newspaper headline. But we’re just fair, and never personal.”
Lineker has not spoken to Gareth Southgate since that punditry furore, nor since he resigned as England manager.
“I’ve met Gareth a couple of times, but I don’t really know him,” he says. “I don’t think Gareth wants a call from anyone about football after the Euros. He probably needs a rest. It’s an incredibly difficult job.
“He’s done a fabulous job over the period that he’s been there. He was the right man at the right time, took England very close on a number of occasions - his record is as good as anyone’s - but I think it’s time now.
“It was the right call [to step down]. England now needs a different way of playing. Given the players we’ve got now, we want a more attack-minded coach. We saw from Spain, the game has moved on.”
Listen to 'The Rest Is Football’ wherever you get your podcasts.
