The BBC is gearing up to announce that its highest-paid presenter is heading for the exit door. Gary Lineker is ready to step down from iconic Premier League highlights show Match of The Day at the end of the 2024/25 season in May next year and leave the BBC after the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

After a 26-year run, the voice of the broadcaster’s popular soccer highlights show will leave at the end of the 2025 season, the network said Tuesday.

Lineker will finish up at the end of the season. The Sun newspaper reported he will also leave the BBC entirely after the 2026 World Cup. The 63-year-old Lineker earns 1.35 million pounds ($1.7 million) a year and has hosted Match of the Day since 1999.

Gary Lineker, who will leave Match of the Day at the end of this season, BBC News understands, has been the steady hand who guided millions of fans through football's agonies and ecstasies. As host of the flagship show for 25 years,

Gary Lineker will step down from his role as Match of the Day presenter at the end of the season, the BBC has confirmed. The former England striker has spent 25 years as the face of the flagship

Gary Lineker is officially stepping down from 'Match of the Day' at the end of the current season, and the BBC say he will be "hugely missed".

Gary Lineker’s exit will be ‘big loss’ for BBC, says former boss - Greg Dyke was director-general of the BBC from 2000 to 2004.