Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has left the BBC more than a year earlier than planned after apologising for a tweet released last week.
The outspoken former striker will host the Premier League highlights programme for the final time on Sunday as planned, but will no longer present the BBC's coverage of next season's FA Cup and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Lineker was previously stood down from Match of the Day in 2023 over his criticism of the then-British government's immigration policy, and the BBC has come under internal and political pressure for not making him adhere to impartiality rules.
In addition to fronting the Beeb's football coverage for the past 25 years, Lineker also hosts The Rest Is Football podcast for his company Goalhanger Podcasts, and he has also presented for other broadcasters such as BT Sport, NBC and Al Jazeera.
Despite being a freelancer, Lineker has been the BBC's highest-paid presenter for several years, earning a salary of £1.35m in 2023, around £400,000 more per year than the next best-paid presenter, Zoe Ball (£950,000 to £954,999).
He will not receive any severance payment from the BBC though. In 2019, his then £1.75m salary was described as "outrageous" by former Mastermind presenter John Humphrys.
In all, Lineker is believed to have earned somewhere in the region of £30m (€35.7m) from his football and television careers.
Accounts for Goalhanger Podcasts, which produces a series of The Rest Is podcasts, including The Rest Is Politics and The Rest Is Entertainment, show the company had retained earnings of more than £2m at the end of May 2024.
The company, of which Lineker owns a third, is estimated to have made a profit of more than £1.4m over the previous 12 months.
The accounts show current assets of nearly £4.9m between the £2.2m owed by the debtors and cash reserves of £2.7m, with net current assets of £1.9m after current liabilities of more than £2.9m are taken into account.
GoalhangerFilms, a motion picture production activities firm that Lineker holds a 47.5% stake in, entered liquidation in November but was declared solvent the following month. Founded in 2014, the firm has produced documentaries on Prince William, Mohamed Salah and Serena Williams.
Accounts for 2023 are overdue, and the latest available accounts show the company had net assets of £442,500 in May 2022, including £458,000 in cash and £120,100 in trade and other receivables against current liabilities of £143,900.
Lineker was also revealed to be part of Inside Track 1 and Inside Track 2, limited liability partnerships for high-net-worth individuals to avail of tax breaks intended to encourage investment in UK firms.
Photo: Gary Lineker looks on during the Emirates FA Cup Final match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Wembley Stadium. (Pic: Michael Regan - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
