Gary Lineker teases he’ll walk away from Match of the Day sooner than planned

made a humorous remark about leaving Match of the Day earlier than planned after lost crucial points in their title race against . Last year, Lineker announced his departure from MOTD at the end of this season, marking the end of his 25-year stint as the host of the broadcaster’s flagship football highlights programme.

The 64-year-old was on duty for Saturday’s (January 4) show with pundits Danny Murphy and Micah Richards, recapping the seven matches played, including ‘s 1-1 draw with Brighton.

‘s team has dropped points in three of their last six games. They’ve fallen further behind , who are five points ahead with two games still to play. Given ‘s dominance under new manager this season, the former England striker is not optimistic about the north London team’s chances of reducing an already significant gap.

As he concluded yesterday’s show, Lineker jokingly said: “Well, I was going to leave at the end of the season, but, the title race is done isn’t it? Goodbye.”

Despite Lineker’s scepticism about anyone beating to the title, he will have a front-row seat to a title race that is likely to crown a champion other than for the first time since led to their first title in 2020.

is set to leave Match of the Day at the end of the season, but he’s not leaving the just yet. He has agreed to a new 18-month contract that will keep him on the channel to front their coverage of the 2026 World Cup, reports .

In addition to leading the coverage for next year’s global tournament, Lineker will continue to present FA Cup games for the in the 2025/26 campaign. He’ll also remain a regular feature on the MOTD Top Ten podcast and his The Rest is Football podcast will still be available on Sounds.

As for who will take over from Lineker on MOTD, it’s yet to be confirmed. However, Sky Sports’ Kelly Cates, veteran Gabby Logan and Match of the Day 2 host Mark Chapman are reportedly lined up to co-host the show from next season.