Match of the Day staff are 'unsettled' over Gary Lineker's future

Staff at the BBC's flagship football show Match of the Day are said to have become 'increasingly unsettled' over the uncertainty of host Gary Lineker's future at the helm.

Fresh doubts emerged yesterday over Lineker's position after rumours swept through corporation suggesting his time on the show may be coming to an end.

And MailOnline revealed how an email been circulated appearing to suggest that bosses are already drawing up a statement to be released announcing his departure after 25 years on the show.

When approached outside his south-west London home, a frosty Lineker, 63, remained coy on the subject, while BBC chiefs said 'we have nothing to announce' in regards to whether they intend to blow the whistle on the host's tenure.

It came as the former England and Spurs striker told his Rest is Football podcast this week that he is still delighted to be hosting Match of the Day.

'Working with the BBC is wonderful, and it is a privilege, and it has been for an awfully long time. And I love the show', he told Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.

But insiders have told MailOnline the intense speculation regarding Lineker's position has caused ripples within the Corporation, as some staff members say they have no idea whether the ex-England captain is staying put or not, which has become 'increasingly unsettling' for those working on the iconic football show. 

A source said: 'Lineker's future has been a hot topic within the BBC for some time.

'There's a belief his time is coming to an end, but speculation surrounding the rumoured speediness of his departure has ramped up since this email has come to light.

'Staffers feel it would be strange for such an esteemed broadcaster to leave so early into the football season, and not receive a big send off - just like veteran pundit Ian Wright experienced last May.

'This has only intensified feelings there may have been another fallout within the ranks, and it's increasingly unsettling for everybody involved.'

The source continued: 'Nobody is being told anything, but there is a sense something big is happening behind the scenes and when it drops, many people will be affected.'

The email seen by MailOnline, which has not been possible to verify in regards to authenticity, included a statement announcing his departure.

After approaching the BBC we were told: 'We have nothing to announce, and we have not agreed next steps with regard to his contract. He is on contract until the end of the season.'

Lineker, who is the BBC's highest paid star on £1,350,000 per year, has been linked with moves away to rival broadcasters in recent years.

Sources close to the former Spurs striker say he still believes he's at the top of his game and is not ready to retire by any means.

Indeed, his appetite to cover big games - namely in World Cups and European Championships - is stronger than ever, especially as England are nearing to actually lifting a major trophy.

An insider said: 'Lineker knows England winning a major tournament for the first time since 1966 would be a seminal moment - and he wants to be front and centre of what could be a huge moment in sporting and television history.

'Lineker loves the BBC and Match of the Day, an institution among football fans, so it would be a real wrench to leave.'

Speaking to Alan Shearer and Micah Richards this week he was asked how he deals with some of the flak he gets.

He replied: 'Working with the BBC is wonderful, and it is a privilege, and it has been for an awfully long time. And I love the show. 

'You get a bit of stick sometimes for the show or if fans disagree with you.. or perhaps they don’t agree with your political views. But it has never really bothered me. I do what I do. I say things that I believe in. If people disagree that’s absolutely fine. But sometimes they might get a bit venomous. But it is such a tiny minority of people.

‘I go out every day, I go on public transport. I always get the train and the Underground in London. I never get stick from people'.

He added: 'I think I have always been. I’m not an aggressive person. I ‘ve not got a temper. I don’t have that kind of red mist thing. 

'I have a character and personality that I never get carried away when things are going well and too down when they’re not. 

'I don’t think you can teach that. You are made that way or not. It is a side of my personality that helps when you’re a footballer as well because you’re under pressure all the time’.

His relationship with BBC chiefs is believed to have waned after he was briefly suspended by the Corporation last March for criticising the government's asylum policy in a controversially worded tweet.

He returned the following week following a walk-out by his Match of the Day colleagues who showed solidarity with the host, and the row even prompted the Beeb to overhaul and draw up a new set of guidelines for its presenters and their social media use.

Behind the scenes, bosses are understood to have been drawing up replacements should Lineker depart, with BBC stalwarts Mark Chapman, 50, and Gabby Logan, 51, linked with bagging the big job having impressed fronting live games and filling in for Lineker on Match of the Day, plus its BBC2 spin-off show Match of the Day 2.

Jermaine Jenas, 41, was reportedly under consideration before he was sacked in August for 'inappropriate behaviour.'

Reports in late September suggested Lineker would hold talks with the BBC this month over a multi-year deal after volunteering to take a pay cut.

It was suggested he would stay on at Match of the Day for £1m a year - £350,000 less than his current salary.

Lineker recently suggested he would have 'another year, at least' at the helm of the BBC's long-running football show, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in August.

Interviewed by BBC Breakfast's John Watson in August, he said: 'I mean, I love doing it at the moment (and) I've got another year doing it, at least.

'We'll have to wait and see what happens. It's an ever-changing feast, football, and television and football, and rights for the Premier League and stuff like that so all of these things will play a part.

'But I just feel that it's been a privilege to present it for 25 years now. I must be getting old.'

Lineker won 80 England caps and scored 49 goals before retiring in 1994 to enter the media world.

As well as presenting, he signed a £1.2million three-year deal with Walkers Crisps in 2020 and has established his own podcast production company Goalhanger, which produces podcasts that includes The Rest is History and The Rest is Politics.

His BBC salary has been reduced since 2019 when he earnt 1.75m, and he took a voluntary pay cut of 23 per cent in 2020.

Goalhanger claims to be the UK's largest independent podcast group, with 17.5 million downloads as of July 2023.

It was founded by Lineker, along with Tony Pastor and Jack Davenport.

In July, it was reported that Lineker plotted a departure from the BBC to its biggest rival – only to learn ITV was not interested, it was understood.

The Daily Mail was told in July that a representative for the Match of the Day presenter made the overtures to ITV in the past 18 months.

Sources indicated the conversations were aimed at sounding out if they wanted the former England player as a sports anchor.