Gary Lineker has already left the BBC Sports Personality of the Year presenting line-up after it was confirmed earlier this week that he’d be leaving Match of the Day.
The 63-year-old is poised to leave the BBC completely in 2026 after spearheading their coverage of the next World Cup.
Lineker has often presented SPOTY over the years but it can now be revealed that he’s decided to walk away from that post as well.
Gabby Logan, Alex Scott and Clare Balding are all set to work on this year’s big event, having co-presented alongside Lineker in 2023.
Mary Earps won the award last year, with the Lionesses star recognised after helping England make the final of the Women’s World Cup.
They were, however, beaten by Spain in the final – with the same thing happening with the men at Euro 2024 this summer.
Lineker has been the host of Match of the Day ever since 1999, when predecessor Des Lynham controversially jumped ship to rivals ITV.
It is currently unclear who will replace the former footballer, however, with several names in the frame.
Mark Chapman is widely considered to be the frontrunner for the post.
There have been claims, however, that he’s reluctant to share the role with some of his colleagues.
A report from the Daily Mail claimed on Wednesday that Scott had the backing of BBC Director of Sport Alex Kay-Jelski.
And it’s also been rumoured that Logan could work on the show as well, having been with the BBC ever since 2007.
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Lineker’s exit from the BBC marks the end of an era.
Jermaine Jenas had previously been seen as the 63-year-old’s natural successor, having worked on Match of the Day and The One Show in the past.
However, the former England, Newcastle, Tottenham, Queens Park Rangers and Nottingham Forest star was ruthlessly axed back in August following complaints of inappropriate behaviour.
Jenas is, however, widely expected to resume working for TNT Sports as the ex-midfielder continues to work on repairing his marriage to wife Ellie Penfold. The corporation remains in his Instagram bio.
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Meanwhile, MOTD guest Danny Murphy has paid tribute to Lineker following the news of his departure.
Murphy told talkSPORT: “Gary’s a friend of mine and he’s been phenomenal to me since the day I walked in the building.
“A warm, charismatic, intelligent man who knows his football and has become part of everybody’s furniture, if you like, on a Saturday evening.
“I’d done a few shows and he was always great. And in my first tournament, I was thrust into the World Cup in Brazil really quickly.
“And it was quite daunting as Alan Hansen was there, Alan Shearer, you know, a lot of these people who I’d looked up to. And between Gary and Alan, and Gary especially was the first one to always, even if I wasn’t working on the same show as him, leave me a message saying, ‘we’re going to be eating here, we’re going to be in this bar, we’re going to be in this hotel. Come and meet us, get a cab to there, we’ll be there.’
“You know, all those type of little things that brought me in. And I’ll never forget how he treated me and how welcome he made me, how good he made me feel.
“He’s just a very intelligent football man, loves his football. You know, him and his sons, they all love the football as well. And he’s doing so many good things.
“He’s getting on a bit, just because he looks good for his age doesn’t mean he isn’t old. He’s getting tired in his old age, probably wants to just cook his Sunday roast.”