The 65-year-old was the iconic face of Match of the Day for an entire generation until he announced his intention to step down in November 2024. He was due to remain with the company to cover the FA Cup and this summer’s World Cup before leaving at the end of the 2024/25 season, earlier than originally planned, following an anti-Semitic uproar after he re-shared social media posts.
Since then, Lineker has achieved considerable success in the world of podcasting, with his hugely popular show The Rest Is Football being sold by Netflix for £14 million.
The show, which also stars Lineker’s former Match of the Day colleagues Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, will air daily on the streaming platform this summer and will provide comprehensive World Cup coverage. Mr Lineker is particularly keen to be stationed in New York’s Times Square, rather than return to Salford with his former employers, who are cutting costs by remaining in the UK.
“I was originally scheduled to appear on the BBC this summer, but that didn’t happen, so I ended up in a green box in Salford and now I’ll be in New York City overlooking Times Square with a lot of great guests,” Lineker said at the launch of Netflix’s Sports Club.
Lineker, Shearer and Richards previously covered Euro 2024 in Berlin, but this summer’s World Cup coverage will span games in the US, Canada and Mexico and is expected to attract even more viewers thanks to Netflix’s vast global reach.
The former England international suffered a tough time during the Euros, declaring England “played badly” after the 1-1 stalemate with Denmark. However, Lineker insisted he would not hold back and vowed to continue giving honest and frank assessments of Thomas Tuchel’s side.
As reported by The Times, he added: “Alan, Micah and I are fans too and will be rooting for England, but when we care that much we can probably be more critical of our own team than anyone else.”
“During the Euros, there was a bit of a fuss when I said, ‘England played shitty,’ and they did. I wouldn’t have made the headlines if I said England played badly. I only said that because it bothered me because it was an excruciating game and England were lucky to score.”
“You have to tell it like it is and we will continue to do that and I hope I don’t have to say things like that.
“Sports is real drama. It’s different from anything else. It’s just real drama, especially the World Cup. The emotion of the World Cup, rooting for your team, and it’s patriotism in a good way, is very important to people.”
