Gary Lineker has said that it is "the right time" to leave Match of the Day.
The BBC had previously confirmed that Lineker would be stepping down as the show's presenter after the current Premier League season.
However, the former England striker will continue to host coverage of the FA Cup in 2025/26 and the World Cup in 2026.
“We can confirm Gary has decided to step down from the team presenting BBC Sports Personality Of The Year”, a BBC spokesperson had said. “After 23 years last year’s 70th anniversary was his final show”.
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Speaking on his podcast, The Rest Is Football, Gary Lineker said: "It has been an absolute joy and privilege to present such an iconic show for the BBC, but all things have to come to an end".
He continued: "It came at a point where really the BBC and Match Of The Day, they've got the rights for another three years, the cycle starts from next season so it felt like if I just do one more year it would be a bit weird".
"I bowed out in my football career when I felt it was the right time. I feel this is now the right time", he added.
While he refused to share who he would like to see take his place, Gary Lineker offered advice to the next MOTD host.
Match of the Day 2 host Mark Chapman, Football Focus presenter Alex Scott and BBC sports coverage presenter Gabby Logan have emerged as strong candidates for the job.
"Obviously I don’t know who it’ll be, and I would never tell publicly my preference, I don’t think that’d be the right thing to do - but whoever it is, I would say be yourself", Lineker said.
"I had to fill the ginormous shoes of a certain Des Lynam", he added. "…I would say just be yourself and enjoy it, it’s a wonderful programme to be a part of. It was brilliant before I took over, and it will be brilliant after I leave".
"I look back and it’s been an amazing experience, and I feel incredibly fortunate," he said, before confirming he will still watch Match Of The Day".
Lineker said it was nice to be leaving the football highlights show in "really good shape", describing the viewing figures as "still really competitive on a Saturday night".
"I bowed out in my football career when I felt it was the right time. I feel this is now the right time", he added. "It’s the flagship BBC Sports programme, hopefully, it always will be".
By the time he departs from the role in May 2025, Gary Lineker will have presented MOTD for more than a quarter of a century, having succeeded Des Lynam in the role in 1999.
