Gary Lineker opens up about life after the BBC, saying he’s ‘not treading on too many eggshells’ ahead of this summer’s World Cup
Gary Lineker left the BBC last year and slammed the broadcaster’s World Cup decision (Image: Ben Whitley/PA Wire).
Former England captain and TV presenter Gary Lineker feels he is “not walking on eggshells as much these days” since his controversial departure from the BBC. The 65-year-old resigned as Match of the Day host in May 2025 after 26 years, following backlash for expressing his political views on social media.
His resignation followed a controversial Instagram post about Zionism that featured a depiction of a rat, a historically anti-Semitic insult. In the run-up to the 2026 World Cup, Lineker will air daily The Rest Is Football, produced by his production company Goal Hunger Podcast, on Netflix, and will cover events in the United States, Canada and Mexico alongside former soccer players Micah Richards and Alan Shearer.
Speaking about life beyond the BBC, Lineker told the Press Association: “I’ve got a bit more time. I’m not walking on eggshells these days so I’m allowed to have an opinion on things.”
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“But no, I’ve had a great period with the Beeb, and I’ve covered so many major tournaments, and obviously, originally I was going to do this (2026 World Cup), but now I’m doing something different, so that’s really exciting.”
ITV will have its team in New York for the duration of the tournament, while the BBC plans to keep most of its presenters and pundits in the UK until the final week.
Lineker criticized the BBC for the World Cup decision, adding: “I’m a bit surprised that Beeb won’t be playing until probably the final stages of the tournament. Being in the green box is something I miss, but I do miss some of the company.”
“But the fact that we now have our own show with lots of guests and staff has been completely replaced. We’re not competing with the BBC in this respect, because they’re obviously focused on live football coverage. We don’t have the rights, but we have a show that people can watch together.”
“I think both the BBC and ITV obviously cover football brilliantly.”
Gary Lineker quit the BBC last year (Image: PA)
Lineker went on to express concerns about the United States co-hosting the games due to President Donald Trump’s actions, including the war with Iran.
The former Barcelona striker, who never received a yellow card during his playing career, said his preparation for the World Cup had always been controversial. These included concerns about LGBTQ+ rights in Qatar in 2022 and concerns about Russia hosting the World Cup in 2018, four years after the invasion of Crimea.
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“I think this is probably the first time that the host country is at war with one of its competitors. We have unpredictable leaders,” he said.
“But from a lot of my experience, once you get there, once you start, it’s always okay, it’s always great, football takes over and I really hope that’s the case and we don’t have to hide anything negative or what happened and hopefully nothing goes wrong.
“But I’m a little more nervous about this than most people, for obvious reasons.”
