The BBC have confirmed  Gary Lineker is set to step down as Match of the Day host at the end of the current football season.

Lineker has spent over two decades as the show’s anchor, but his contract with the BBC was due to expire in May next year.

As a result, the broadcaster has revealed a new host will be in place for the 2025/26 Premier League season.

An official statement from the BBC is expected to be issued on Tuesday, as per BBC News.

Of those whose salaries are declared, Lineker is the highest-paid star on the BBC’s roster, with the ex-Spurs and Barcelona ace pocketing £1.3million per year.

However, as first reported by The Sun, Lineker isn’t expected to leave the BBC until after the 2026 World Cup, which is being held in the United States.

That’s because Lineker and the BBC are said to have reached an agreement on a short-term contract extension that will see him travel Stateside for his final presenting gig.

Speculation surrounding Lineker’s future has been rife for some time, with the ex-Spurs and Leicester ace tipped to leave his post earlier this year.

Referencing the rumours, Lineker cheekily opened up a Match of the Day episode last month with: “Seven games on the way and it’s my final show… Before the international break.”

Speaking that same month, Lineker told The Rest is Football podcast: “I’m coming to the end of my contract in the summer.

“So it’s natural at some point that you have to have conversations, and they’ve just started. So I don’t know why it all spiralled out of control.”

Lineker’s time at the BBC has been clouded by controversy in the past, with the now 63-year-old suspended by the corporation in 2023 after social media comments criticising the government’s controversial asylum policy.

The decision sparked a backlash from Lineker’s Match of the Day colleagues, with many opting to boycott the show until Lineker was reinstated as presenter.

Attention will now turn towards who should replace the departing Lineker when the show undergoes a revamp ahead of the 2025/26 season.

Mark Chapman has emerged as the favourite, with the journalist having presented several BBC television and radio shows in the past, including Match of the Day 2 – the Sunday equivalent to the Saturday night favourite.

Alex Scott, Gabby Logan and Jason Mohammad are among the other names being touted as potential Lineker replacements.