Gary Lineker has hosted Match of the Day since 1999, but the BBC star has admitted he’s not sure how much longer he’ll be in the hotseat as the rights to the show could be moving

Gary Lineker had a candid chat on BBC Breakfast, reflecting on his acclaimed run as Match of the Day’s host since ’92 and contemplating its end.

With Watson quizzing him about his tenure on the show, Gary confessed, “I don’t… I don’t know! ” about how much longer he’ll keep presenting.

With a blend of uncertainty and nostalgia, the footie star mused, “Depends how long they want me, I suppose. I love doing it at the moment; I’ve still got another year left, at least. So we’ll have to wait and see what happens. Obviously it’s another change in football and television and the rights of the Premier League and stuff like that.”

Gary admitted, “All of these things will play a part. But I just feel it’s been an absolute privilege to have presented it for 25 years now. I must be getting old!”

On the challenges faced when it comes to balancing the program’s tight schedule, especially during ITV’s takeover, Lineker revealed his proactive approach, “When it came back, when we got the rights back, I said, ‘Is there any way we could show all the games?'”, reports the Express.

Gary Lineker cast doubt on his Match of the Day future (Image: (Image: BBC))

“We found a way of doing it and I thought, ‘Right, we finally won’t get people moaning that they’re never on Match of the Day, but of course then it becomes about where they are on Match of the Day, on the running order! We’re always last.”

Gary branded it the “toughest” show he’s ever done, especially when you compare it with live football, where there’s time to relax during ad breaks.

He explained: “When we do live games you’ve got much more time, especially on the Beeb because you’ve got no adverts.”

“At half-time and the end of the game you have plenty of time to chat without any breaks, and you can go off on one. But you can’t do that on Match of the Day.”

The news follows after Gary’s fat BBC cheque was spilled to the public, making him top dog in the money list. For 2024, Gary’s wallet got a hefty fill, with figures showing he pocketed £1,350,000-£1,354,999 leaving Zoe Ball, disgraced presenter Huw Edwards and Greg James lagging behind.

Fiona Bruce nabbed the title for most minted woman presenter, raking in £405,000, beating out Lauren Laverne and Naga Munchetty.