Lineker will bow out after the event in the United States, Mexico and Canada, which will bring to an end a stint that has lasted for more than 25 years.
While his increased political activity has courted some controversy in recent years, Lineker has been a much-loved face on British television and will be missed by many.
Here is a look at his life and career.
Lineker plays for Spurs in 1991
PA
Who is Gary Lineker and why is he leaving Match of the Day?
What happened during Gary Lineker’s football career?
Born in Leicester to a family of greengrocers, Lineker made his debut as a teenager for his local team Leicester City in 1979 and went on to become a club legend – finishing as the First Division’s top scorer in 1984-85.
His form led to an England call-up, and he finished the 1986 World Cup as the top scorer. After one season with Everton, he signed for Barcelona and enjoyed mixed successes before returning to England to play for Tottenham Hotspur in 1989.
He again led England’s charge at the 1990 World Cup and scored four goals as the Three Lions made it to the semi-finals – only to lose to West Germany, where Lineker scored but was best remembered for comforting a desolate Paul Gascoigne.
After falling painfully shy of the all-time goals record for England, Lineker retired from internationals in 1992 and played on for two more years in Japan before winding down his career in 1994.
He holds a rare distinction in never being booked or sent off in his entire career.
Lineker in his Tottenham days
PA
When did he move into presenting?
Lineker moved into presenting more or less right after his retirement from football and appeared on sports series They Think It’s All Over from 1995 to 2003 on BBC Radio 5 Live.
After working as a pundit and co-presenter for the BBC, notably announcing that Ronaldo wouldn’t and then would be playing in the 1998 World Cup final, Lineker replaced Des Lynam as the BBC’s main anchor for football in 1999.
He presided over some memorable moments in the studio – perhaps most famously making good on a promise to present Match of the Day in his pants if Leicester won the Premier League, which they did in 2016.
He has also presented golf for the BBC and was part of the main presenter line-up for the 2012 Olympics. In addition, Lineker has presented for BT Sport and Al Jazeera alongside his tenure at the Beeb. He has also been behind the successful Goalhanger Podcasts that have spawned The Rest is Politics, The Rest is Entertainment and many others.
Why is he leaving Match of the Day?
Lineker said in this latest interview that it “was time” to go, although he will present for another season – just not on Match of the Day. Instead, Lineker will just be at the helm for the FA Cup coverage and the 2026 World Cup.
He added that the BBC “didn’t like the damage” done by his controversial tweeting.
This came to a head in March 2023 when he compared the British government’s asylum policy with 1930s Germany.
He was briefly taken off air, and other sports journalists and presenters walked out in solidarity, before he returned to fronting MOTD.
Lineker in 2023
PA
Lineker said: “I don’t regret saying them publicly, because I was right – what I said, it was accurate – so not at all in that sense.
“Would I, in hindsight, do it again? No, I wouldn’t, because of all the nonsense that came with it… It was a ridiculous overreaction that was just a reply to someone that was being very rude. And I wasn’t particularly rude back.”
His tweets, which sparked a row about BBC presenters expressing political views on social media, led to enhanced rules for BBC flagship presenters, including a ban on making attacks on political parties.
He added: “But I wouldn’t do it again because of all the kerfuffle that followed, and I love the BBC, and I didn’t like the damage that it did to the BBC… But do I regret it and do I think it was the wrong thing to do? No.”
Lineker will be replaced by Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan at Match of the Day.
Lineker with his second wife Danielle
PA
Who is Gary Lineker’s wife and what are his previous relationships?
Lineker has four sons with his first wife Michelle Cockayne, whom he married in 1986.
They were together for 20 years before she divorced him in 2006, claiming “unreasonable behaviour” and that he had caused her “stress and anxiety”.
He married for the second time in 2009, wedding Welsh model Danielle Bux in Italy but they too split in 2016 with Lineker not wanting to have more children.
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