- Gary Lineker has presented the flagship sporting show for a quarter of a century.
- However, his £1.3m contract is due to expire at the end of the current season.
- LISTEN NOW: It’s all just beginning!Available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday and Thursday
Gary Lineker has indicated he is keen to continue as host of Match of the Day after his “natural successor” Jermaine Jenas was sacked by the BBC last week.
Lineker, 63, has presented the BBC’s flagship sports programme for a quarter of a century but his lucrative £1.3m-a-year contract is due to expire at the end of the season.
It is currently unclear whether he will commit to a new contract and there has been much speculation about his possible replacements, with Jenas at the head of the queue.
But former Tottenham midfielder Jenas, 41, was sacked by the BBC over allegations of inappropriate workplace behaviour after a female colleague complained she had received unsolicited messages from the pundit.
Lineker had previously called Jenas a “natural” candidate to succeed him in the Match of the Day role, but in a recent interview he expressed his willingness to continue.
Gary Lineker has indicated that he is keen to continue as presenter of Match of the Day
Lineker, 63, has presented the BBC’s flagship sports programme for a quarter of a century.
“Match Of The Day is an iconic show, 60 years is a long time and I’ve been presenting it for 25 of those years,” he said. The Independent.
‘Podcast-wise, things have really outperformed our expectations, but at the same time, I love being part of Match Of The Day. I love working for the BBC. I know it has its problems and its difficulties, but I think it’s brilliant.
“I think we sometimes don’t praise how good we are at the BBC.”
Asked earlier this week how long he hoped to remain at the helm of the show, Lineker told BBC Breakfast: “I don’t know. It depends how long they want me, I suppose. I’m loving doing it at the moment – I’ve got another year left, at least.”
Lineker has appeared on several BBC podcasts but angered BBC bosses after expressing his personal views on the war in Gaza and the previous Conservative government’s language regarding asylum seekers.
Jermaine Jenas, widely seen as the favourite to succeed Lineker, has been sacked by the BBC.
Jenas appears in his final episode of the One Show on July 22 this year alongside Alex Jones.
He was suspended in March 2023, prompting his colleagues to boycott the program.
Jenas has worked as a pundit on Match of the Day and also appeared as a guest on FA Cup and World Cup coverage, and has made no secret of his desire to one day replace Lineker.
His last appearance on the BBC was on The One Show on 22 July, while his last appearance on Match of the Day was on 4 May. He was part of the BBC’s Euro 2024 coverage.
The former England international issued a public apology to the two women he had texted, but insisted they were between consenting adults.
Jenas now fears for the future of his marriage to his wife of 13 years, Ellie Penfold.
“I haven’t slept well since I was told, to be honest,” he told The Sun.
Jenas is pictured with his wife Ellie Penfold at the Pride Of Britain Awards on October 8, 2023.
‘I’m talking about the anxiety that builds up in the body from these kinds of things. I haven’t taken any sleeping pills. I just haven’t been able to sleep.
“You just lie there, your mind racing, until you pass out. Part of me would rather run away and collapse.”
Jenas, who has three children with Ellie and another teenage daughter from an early relationship, revealed his wife has yet to tell him whether their marriage can last.
He added: “When I see Ellie most days, she just gets up. She goes off to make sure the kids are okay. I feel embarrassed. I feel like I’ve let everyone down.”
