Gary Lineker reportedly considered leaving his £1.4million-a-year job with the BBC to make a controversial switch to one of their rivals, only to be brutally snubbed after being informed they were not interested. The long-serving Match of the Day host was keen on sounding out a move to join ITV’s lineup over the past 18 months but the broadcaster wasn’t interested in discussing a deal.
Lineker, 63, is the BBC’s top earner on their list of highest-paid presenters with a salary of £1.35million a year. He has been presenting their flagship football programme Match of the Day since 1999 after replacing Des Lynam.
He is a constant presence in the BBC studio as he led their coverage during the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany, with Micah Richards and Alan Shearer also in the studio.
But according to the Daily Mail, the former England international striker ‘made overtures’ to BBC’s rivals ITV over the past 18 months to assess if it would be possible to take a role as sports anchor.
Lineker’s contract with the taxpayer-funded British corporation expires at the end of next year and he reportedly wanted to sound out his possible options, one of which was ITV.
But the broadcaster were not interested in pursuing a deal, with Mark Pougatch currently in place as their sports presenter.
Lineker’s agent, Jon Holmes, is said to have described claims that he was rebuffed by the ITV as “rubbish” and claimed ITV had attempted to recruit Lineker “years ago”, only for the presenter to snub them on that occasion.
Holmes did not deny that Lineker had held discussions with ITV, but referred to his work on the cancelled game show Sitting on a Fortune, which was shown between 2021 and July 2023 before it was axed.
However, it is claimed those matters were ‘unconnected’ and Lineker was keen on taking forward ITV’s sports coverage.
But it appears to suggest Lineker is pondering his future with the BBC, which will come as no surprise after clashing in the past over his use of social media.
BBC employees are forced to follow strict guidelines on topics such as politics, and Lineker was suspended from duty and taken off air for criticising the government’s asylum policy in March 2023. He was reinstated three days later following a backlash from key BBC staff members.
But the broadcasting giant gave a hint towards the future when it signed a major three-year deal back in 2022 to broadcast highlights of the Champions League from the start of the 2024-25 campaign, with 16 shows planned on Wednesday evenings from September to May – only for Lineker to be left out of the coverage.
If he does leave, Lineker won’t be short offers. He has been hosting one of the most popular football podcasts around titled ‘The Rest is Football’ since 2023 along with Richards and Shearer, with occasional appearances from Ian Wright.
