Gary Lineker is coming to the end of his lucrative BBC contract which could spell the end of his 25-year stint as Match of the Day’s spearhead. With a £1.35million-a-year salary, the former England footballer is by far the broadcaster’s highest-paid employee.

Rumours of a BBC exit kicked up a notch last week, when The Daily Mail reported seeing an email suggesting that a statement was being prepared to announce Lineker’s departure.

The 63-year-old has since addressed the situation on The Rest is Football podcast, saying: “It’s been a strange few days – as you know, I’m coming to the end of my contract in the summer so it’s natural at some point you have to have conversations and they have just started. I don’t know why it all spiralled out of control. All is okay.”

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