Gary Lineker Bids Emotional Farewell to Match Of The Day After 26 Years

London, UK – Gary Lineker signed off as the host of BBC’s Match Of The Day on Sunday evening, May 25, bringing an end to his 26-year tenure with the iconic football highlights show. The emotional departure follows a recent social media controversy that saw the 64-year-old apologize for re-posting an image featuring a rat in connection with Zionism, a depiction historically used as an antisemitic insult.

Lineker, the BBC’s highest-paid presenter, stated it had been an “absolute privilege” and “utterly joyous” to front the program for a quarter of a century. His early exit from the broadcaster means he will no longer present the corporation’s coverage of the 2026 World Cup or the FA Cup next season.

In his final broadcast, alongside fellow pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards (with whom he also hosts The Rest Is Football podcast), Lineker humbly remarked, “Rather like my football career, everyone else did all the hard work and I got the plaudits. It’s been an absolute privilege to host Match Of The Day for a quarter of a century. It’s been utterly joyous.”

The former England striker issued an unreserved apology earlier this month, acknowledging that he “would never knowingly share anything antisemitic.” He clarified that the post was removed as soon as he became aware of the offensive imagery.

Looking ahead, Gabby Logan, Kelly Cates, and Mark Chapman will share the presenting duties for Match Of The Day from the upcoming Premier League season. Lineker extended his best wishes to the trio, assuring viewers that “The programme is in the best of hands.”

Lineker’s farewell message concluded with heartfelt thanks to the viewers: “And my final thank you goes to all of you. Thank you for watching, thank you for all your love and support over the years. It has been so special, and I am sorry that your team was always on last. Time to say goodbye. Goodbye.”

He was visibly moved, wiping away tears, after a video montage played featuring tributes from past and present pundits including Richards, Shearer, Alan Hansen, Danny Murphy, and Ian Wright. Football figures such as Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, former Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri, and ex-teammates Alan Smith, Paul Gascoigne, and Peter Shilton also offered their appreciation, alongside messages from Lineker’s sons.

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A lighthearted moment came near the end of the episode as Lineker quipped, “It had to be Leicester last,” a nod to his famous appearance in just his underpants in August 2016 after Leicester City’s improbable Premier League title win. He donned white and blue Leicester shorts for the initial 30 minutes of that show before returning fully dressed. Leicester is Lineker’s boyhood club, where he scored 94 goals in 194 matches.

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot also featured in the program, thanking Lineker for being “such a great presenter of a BBC show that I have watched many times when I lived in Holland, and now still. It’s great what you did.”

The final episode commenced with a montage of Lineker’s on-field highlights and an archive clip of him as a presenter saying “the end of an era,” before the familiar Match Of The Day theme tune played. Lineker had hosted the show since 1999 and also fronted the BBC’s coverage of major sporting events, including the 2012 London Olympics.

He opened the broadcast by acknowledging the unexpected nature of his departure, stating, “It wasn’t meant to end this way… but with the title race over and the relegation places confirmed, the Champions League was all we had left to talk about.”