I'll never forget how good Gary Lineker made me feel after feeling intimidated by working on Match of the Day.
News of Gary Lineker's imminent departure from the BBC left his colleague Danny Murphy “a bit surprised”.
He bbc confirmed reports Lineker would leave his role as presenter of the flagship program Match of the day at the end of the 2024/25 season.
However, the sun reports that Lineker has signed an 18-month extension to help him until the end of the 2026 World Cup.
He will also present the BBC's coverage of the FA Cup during that time.
Lineker's contract with the BBC, which made him the broadcaster's highest-paid talent, was set to expire at the end of this season.
Although speculation had been rife about Lineker's departure, the presenter shamelessly propelled into the air, Murphy was still taken aback by the news.
The former Liverpool midfielder also paid tribute to how welcoming Lineker had been to him when they worked together, as murphy He insisted that he would “never forget how good it made me feel.”
“I didn't know (he was leaving),” Murphy said on talkSPORT's Kick Off in immediate reaction to the news.
“I knew the contract would end at the end of the season. So there's been a lot of talk about it. I'm a little surprised.
“I have, you know, Gary is a friend of mine and he's been phenomenal to me since the day I walked into the building. And a warm, charismatic, intelligent man who knows his football and has become part of everyone's furniture, if you will.” Whatever you want, on a Saturday night.
“I'll tell you quickly, I mean, from the first one… I had done a few shows and he was always great.
“And in my first tournament, I arrived very quickly at the World Cup in Brazil.
2
“And it was quite discouraging since Alan Hansen was there, Alan Shearer, you know, a lot of these people I admired. And between Gary and Alan, and Gary especially was the first one ever, even if I wasn't working on the same program as him, leave me a message saying, 'we're going to eat here, we're going to be in this bar, we're going to be in this hotel, take a taxi there, we'll be there.
“You know, all those kinds of little things that drew me in. And I'll never forget how he treated me and how welcome he made me, how good he made me feel.
“And he's a very intelligent footballer, he loves football. You know, he and his children love football too. And he's doing a lot of good things.
“He's getting a little better, just because he looks good for his age doesn't mean he's not old. He's getting tired with old age, he probably just wants to cook his Sunday roast.”
Lineker has hosted Match of the Day since 1999, replacing iconic broadcaster Des Lynam in the role.
At the end of the 2024/25 season, Lineker will have been the show's presenter for 26 years.
