Gary Lineker, the prolific English sports personality and former soccer star, will leave the BBC’s flagship soccer program “Match of the Day” after this Premier League season, the broadcaster said on Tuesday.
“Gary will also be stepping away from Match of the Day after an incredible 25 years at the end of the current season,” Alex Kay-Jelski, the director of BBC Sport, said in an email to staff seen by The New York Times. “It’s a national gem, watched by millions of people every week. And one we are very proud of.”
Mr. Lineker has anchored the weekly highlights show since 1999. Though he is leaving the program, Mr. Lineker will cover the 2026 World Cup for the BBC, as well as the F.A. Cup in the 2025-2026 season, Mr. Kay-Jelski told staff.
Still, Mr. Lineker’s departure from “Match of the Day” signals the end of an era, both for the network and its host. The show has aired on the BBC since 1964, and recaps highlights from the day’s Premier League matches, drawing millions of viewers each weekend.
In addition to hosting “Match of the Day,” Mr. Lineker has dabbled in other broadcasts, including with the U.S.-based outlets TNT and NBC. In recent years, Mr. Lineker has branched into podcasts, co-founding the Goalhanger production company which produces several popular shows, including “The Rest Is Politics.”
Mr. Lineker has been a fixture in the international soccer lexicon for decades, establishing himself as a star in the 1980s as a striker and captain of England’s national team. He remains the only English player to be the leading scorer for three separate clubs: Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton. He retired from the game in 1994, after stints in Barcelona and Japan, and quickly pivoted to broadcasting.
The oft-outspoken Mr. Lineker has periodically branched out into political and social commentary, which has occasionally put him at odds with his employer. In 2023, Mr. Lineker was temporarily suspended from the airwaves after he wrote a post on social media likening the British government’s language on immigration policies to that of 1930s Germany. The incident ignited a firestorm within and around the BBC, and Mr. Lineker was reinstated not long after.
Addressing Mr. Lineker’s departure from the program, Mr. Kay-Jelski, the BBC Sport director, said the move had nothing to do with the previous spat, adding that the network was happy to continue working with him for upcoming tournaments.
“We still want to work with Gary, just in a different way,” Mr. Kay-Jelski said in the email.
In a statement circulated by Mr. Kay-Jelski, Mr. Lineker thanked the network.
“I’m delighted to continue my long association with BBC Sport,” Mr. Lineker said.