How he went from football sensation to BBC star | Global News Avenue

Gary Lineker, who has been a steady hand guiding millions of fans through the pain and ecstasy of football, will leave Match of the Day at the end of the season, BBC News understands.

A presenter of the flagship show for 25 years, he is also one of the company’s most high-profile presenters, earning £1.3m last year.

One of his lines at the end of each show summed up the mood of the fans and the game, seemingly seamlessly.

But they are the result of years of honing his craft and his expressive skills.

As a former footballer of considerable pedigree – including England captain and striker, scoring 48 goals in 80 games – he is known to have never received a red or yellow card in his career.

When he retired as a player in 1994, his ability to remain calm on the pitch served him well as a broadcaster.

While he was still at school, he set his sights on sports journalism, figuring that would be his fallback if football didn’t work out.

Apparently it does.

Known for his ability to find gaps in the opposition’s defense and his “poacher’s instinct”, Lineker was the 1986 World Cup Golden Boot winner and England’s top scorer three times, each time with a different club: Leicester City, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur.

But when Lineker’s sporting career reached its peak with the 1986 and 1990 World Cup finals, he was staying in the same hotel as the England team and spending time with reporters.

“Already in my 20s, I knew which direction I wanted to go after retirement,” he said told the BBC in 2014.

“I would watch the newspaper people write the opening paragraphs and then sit with the broadcast reporters and talk to them about how they did their jobs.”

His ultimate goal is to become a presenter rather than an expert.

But he admits his transition to radio and television “took a lot of work”.

His early attempts at broadcasting were “pretty shocking” and he told Ross Atkins of BBC Media Show 2021.

He said starting Radio 5 Live “was part of the learning process”.

“I managed to stumble through it and I learned from really good people around me who helped me a lot early on.”

Lineker built on this experience, He wrote all the scripts himself And create a character for yourself.

After watching former sports star David Gower demonstrate cricket and Sue Barker demonstrate tennis, he questioned why football was different.

“I just thought, as a player playing at the top level, if I can perform well it will get me a place,” he told BBC Radio 4 podcast Don’t Tell Me the Score 2019.

“It will give me an advantage over other people.”

Meanwhile, his popularity as a footballer continued. In 1991, Arthur Smith and Chris England created a stage play called An Evening with Gary Lineker, about a couple in The story of trying to rekindle a marriage during the 1990 World Cup semi-finals.

The film stars Caroline Quentin, Clive Owen, Paul Merton and Martin Clunes and was made into a TV series in 1994, with Lineker in a guest appearance.

He also began a wider television career, captaining the BBC One comedy panel show They Think It’s All Over from 1995 to 2003.

He came to attention as a presenter in 1997 when he replaced Des Lynam on the Saturday afternoon sports program Grandstand.

By the mid-1990s, Lineker was also appearing as a commentator on Match of the Day.

This gave him a prime learning spot – right next to the experienced and smooth presenter Lineham.

The former footballer said: “Des was very helpful and I used to ask a lot of questions about the little things he did and discovered some of his nuances.”

“He told me to be brave and give the closing words once in a while and not be afraid to try to be funny.

“Again, the little rewards I sometimes get at the end of the show are all from him.”

By 1999 Lineker was hosting the show, attracting an audience that the BBC sometimes struggled to attract and retain.

People will also tune in to watch his chemistry with the show’s experts, which include other former footballers such as Alan Shearer, Ian Wright, Micah Richards and Alan Hansen.

Lineker’s questions keep the analysis flowing, while he’s always willing to share a joke and his own perspective.

He is also unforgettable Introducing the show while wearing pants In 2016, he promised his “first MOTD next season would be in just my knickers” if his former club Leicester City won the Premier League, and they did.

Shearer and Wright both had straight faces.

Their friendship often shines brightly. In June this year, Lineker and Shearer Sent emotional messages of support to HansonAfter learning that he was seriously ill and hospitalized.

Despite his rapport with his colleagues, things were not so simple off-screen.

As one of the BBC’s highest-paid presenters, he faces ongoing scrutiny as he regularly tops lists of staff whose salaries are published.

Lineker doesn’t shy away from speaking his mind, particularly on social media, while working for a broadcaster committed to impartiality.

In March last year, he posted on X about the government’s asylum policy – and was reported by the BBC briefly suspended his duties.

Shearer, Wright and other BBC Sport presenters refused to appear on the show in protest of his absence.

The daily game was reduced to 20 minutes, removing presenters, experts and commentary, and the story made headlines for days, with politicians and media commentators weighing in on the issue.

BBC Director General Tim Davie then Apology to license fee payers Calling the outage a “tough day” for the company.

Lineker was reinstated nine days later.

host Later The response to his tweet was “Stupid – it shouldn’t be like this.”

“I love the BBC. I worked there for almost 30 years, but people make mistakes, they recognize it and they work it out, and in the end, thankfully, we’re all back at work,” he said.

The headlines and drama generated by his views online not only reinforced his high celebrity status but also demonstrated the BBC’s desire to retain him.

The incident prompted a review of the BBC’s social media guidelines. Last September, the BBC’s flagship presenters published new rules saying they should be allowed to express their views on issues and policy but not engage in political campaigning.

Lineker said the advice was “very sensible”.

go through February this yearwho said he uses X less and less frequently and said the platform has become “increasingly toxic” under new owner Elon Musk.

Still, he and the BBC parted ways and its flagship football program no longer has a presenter.

Lineker has a number of outside business interests, including the successful podcast production company Goalhanger, which he co-founded.

It produces programs including The Rest Is History, The Rest Is Entertainment and The Rest Is Politics, Won the Champion Award at this year’s Podcast Awards.

But for the BBC, Lineker’s departure comes after several scandals.

Former Match of the Day and The One Show presenter Jermaine Jenas fired in august After a complaint about workplace conduct.

September, BBC apologizes to Amanda Abbington And upheld some of her complaints against Strictly 2023 dance partner Giovanni Pernice, while clearing him of the most serious allegations.

In the same month, Mr Davey said he would no longer see disgraced former news presenter Hugh Edwards working at the company.

Edwards is Sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two yearsafter he admitted a charge of making indecent images of children.

So the BBC needs some good headlines – and Lineker’s departure means it now has to find a good presenter to fill his vacancy, no easy task.