Match of the Day has moved on without Gary Lineker this season, but another of the show’s stars, Alan Shearer, has previously shed some light on his BBC future
Alan Shearer has no plans to leave the BBC anytime soon – but has no desire to one day host Match of the Day either. The ex-England striker continues to appear as a presenter on the show after Gary Lineker’s exit.
With the new Premier League campaign well underway, Match of the Day has continued without the iconic Lineker. He had hosted the show for 26 years but announced he’d be stepping down ahead of this season last year. In May, he revealed he’d be severing ties with the BBC altogether after sparking an antisemitism row.
Lineker was replaced by a three-host rotation of Mark Chapman, Kelly Cates and Gabby Logan, with usual presenters Shearer and friend Micah Richards retaining their frequent roles.
When Lineker announced his impending exit, many called for Newcastle hero Shearer to be installed as host. But the 55-year-old made it crystal clear that fronting the show would not be his cup of tea.
Speaking on The Rest is Football, a podcast that Lineker, Shearer and Richards share, the former’s final show was discussed back in November 2024. Lineker had made it clear by then that his time as host was almost up.
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On one episode of Match of the Day, Shearer had been tasked with opening the show with a quip aimed at Lineker. He was asked about hosting duties on the podcast and with a 15-word statement, made his stance clear.
“No, I’m quite happy doing what I’m doing, so I’ll leave that to the experts,” he admitted. “I did [open the show]! By the way, I was so nervous because we’d only decided to do that about a minute before we went on air.
“I only had to say eight words, and I was s******g myself. I’ve got a new respect for presenters. I know it’s not easy, but honestly I was like, for a minute, my throat was bad.
“The countdown in your ear it’s like, ’10, 9, 8,’ and then it went on air and we were waiting for it to go, ‘And cue’. For a second, I was thinking, ‘If you f*** this up now, you’re just going to look a right idiot.’
“I’m even sweating now thinking about it. Honestly, I was thinking, ‘If I get one word wrong here, this is going to ruin me’, with it being so important. I can just see the memes going around if I get a word wrong. Whatever, ‘You just don’t f*** it up here; just get it right.’ Thankfully, I didn’t mess up.”
Although Shearer and Richards have carried on their Match of the Day appearances in the wake of Lineker’s exit, the Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer gave his colleague a heartwarming send-off.
Shearer told the Mail: “He [Lineker] got a really emotional send off and one he deserved, and he’s a brilliant broadcaster, and he’s a great friend of mine, and we will all miss him.”
“It’s different for myself and Micah, because it’s not as if we’re not ever going to see him again. I mean, we’ve done two recordings of our podcast as well, so we’re still going to be sort of working together.
“Match of the Day is everything to him. He loves it, it means the world to him. Off air he’s very calm, very generous. You are an amazing friend.”
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