Gary Lineker to leave BBC's Match of the Day

Broadcaster Gary Lineker is to step down as host of flagship football programme Match of the Day at the end of this season, BBC News understands.

It is expected to be announced officially on Tuesday by the BBC.

The Sun, who first reported the story, also said the presenter would leave the BBC after leading coverage of the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.

The BBC press office declined to comment.

The news comes after Lineker entered negotiations with the BBC over a new contract in October.

Lineker told Esquire magazine in August, in an interview published this month, that he accepts he will "have to slow down at some point".

The broadcaster has hosted the BBC's flagship football show Match of the Day since 1999.

The 63-year-old is one of the corporation's best-known presenters and its highest-paid star, of those whose salaries are declared, earning more than £1.3m a year.

However, the former footballer has also been involved in controversy at the corporation because of his social media activity.

He was briefly suspended by BBC bosses last year after an outcry over a post about the UK's asylum policy.

Before becoming a TV presenter, Lineker had a hugely successful career as a striker for England as well as Leicester, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona.