Gary Lineker will not present the BBC’s Champions League highlights programme next season in a development that raises further questions over his future as host of Match of the Day.
The former England captain has 12 months left on his contract with the BBC and there is uncertainty over whether it will be renewed, given the fallout from his suspension last year and the subsequent strike from pundits including Ian Wright, which embarrassed executives at the corporation.
To complicate matters, the BBC is due to begin a three-year deal to broadcast Champions League highlights for the first time next season, with 16 weekly shows planned for Wednesday evenings from September. Having previously fronted Champions League coverage for BT Sport, Lineker was the obvious candidate to host the programme. But Telegraph Sport has learned that Gabby Logan has instead been lined up for presenting duties.
The BBC is understood to have held talks with Lineker over its Champions League plans without making him a formal offer. Lineker’s busy schedule, given the success of his The Rest is Football podcast, and reluctance to travel to the BBC headquarters in Salford from his home in west London for midweek programmes are believed to have influenced his thinking.
Lineker’s longer-term future at the BBC remains unclear and is a matter for director general Tim Davie. The 62-year-old’s existing £1.35 million-a-year contract expires next summer, but the BBC will require clarity long before then as it has secured a new four-year deal for Match of the Day until 2029 and will require time to plan for a new presenter if needed.
Lineker was suspended for a week by the BBC in March last year after declaring that the Government’s language around asylum policy was “not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s”. BBC colleagues — including pundits and commentators — went on strike in support of Lineker and an independent panel subsequently ruled that the BBC’s non-news presenters should be able to express political opinions.
Lineker has continued to talk politics, backing pro-Palestine marches following the terrorist attacks in Israel last October and supporting protesters’ right to hold events in London on Armistice Day. His strongly worded criticisms of some of England’s performances at the European Championship, including describing their 1-1 draw against Denmark as “s—” on The Rest is Football, are known to have irritated members of Gareth Southgate’s squad and some at the FA.
As Telegraph Sport reported last month Lineker’s earnings from The Rest is Football, which is owned by his production company Goalhanger Podcasts and also features BBC pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, are soaring. Lineker’s son Harry, who produces The Rest is Football, told the Telegraph that monthly downloads had increased by 62 per cent during June and several episodes have attracted more than 500,000 views on YouTube.
The BBC declined to comment when asked about its presenting team for the Champions League. An announcement is expected after next month’s Olympics, which will also be presented by Logan.