Alan Shearer breaks silence on Match of the Day future after Gary Lineker's emotional BBC exit
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
ALAN SHEARER has opened up on Gary Lineker's emotional Match of the Day exit - and his own future on the show.
Lineker, 64, signed off from his role as MOTD host after 26 years on Sunday night.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
2
Alan Shearer has broken his silence on his Match of the Day future
Credit: Getty
2
Gary Lineker signed off on the show for the final time on Sunday after 26 years
Credit: BBC
The England legend revealed his intention to quit from the Beeb show back in November.
But his exit was overshadowed by an antisemitism storm, which saw Lineker step away from the BBC completely.
Shearer, 54, made his BBC punditry debut back in 2006 and has worked alongside Lineker ever since.
Shearer told The Daily Mail: "He got a really emotional send off on Sunday, and one he deserved.
READ MORE ON GARY LINEKER
GARY'S GAFFE Gary Lineker reveals Match of the Day blunder he made in last-ever appearance
"He's a brilliant broadcaster, and he's a great friend of mine, and we will all miss him."
The Toon icon confirmed he will continue to appear on the iconic BBC show.
Shearer and Lineker are also set to carry on with their hit podcast The Rest Is Football.
They are joined on the popular pod by Micah Richards, another popular Beeb pundit.
BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK
Shearer admits Lineker's farewell didn't hit too hard - as they've already recorded two more episodes since.
The Newcastle legend continued: "It's different for myself and Micah, because it's not as if we're not ever going to see him again.
Gary Lineker reveals Match of the Day blunder he made in last-ever appearance for first time in 26 years
"I mean, we've done two recordings of our podcast as well, so we're still going to be sort of working together."
Lineker's production company Goalhanger Productions are reportedly in talks with DAZN ahead of the summer.
The discussions are based around "launching shows featuring MOTD-style match clips of the Club World Cup."
TV insiders also believe Lineker moving to a rival such as ITV or Sky Sports is "highly unlikely."
Lineker faced a huge backlash after he re-posted a video earlier this month which criticised Zionism and included an illustration of a rat.
I'm sorry that your team was always on last. Time to say goodbye
Gary Lineker
The Three Lions legend agreed to leave the BBC for good and apologised unreservedly.
Lineker was given a seven-minute tribute during his final Match of the Day broadcast
Tearing up, he added: "It's been an absolute privilege to host Match of the Day for a quarter of a century. It's been utterly joyous.
"I'd like to wish Gabby [Logan], Mark [Chapman], and Kelly [Cates] all the best when they sit in the chair.
"The programme is in the best of hands. My final thank you goes to all of you. Thank you for watching.
"Thank you for all your love and support over the years. It's been so special.
"I'm sorry that your team was always on last. Time to say goodbye."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
37 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Wynne Evans dropped by BBC after Strictly tour apology
Talking about his departure on Instagram, he thanked his followers and shared that the broadcaster 'has decided not to renew my contract'. The decision by the BBC comes after the Welsh opera singer's apology for using 'inappropriate language' during the launch of the Strictly Come Dancing tour. Captioning the post on the social media platform, he said: 'It breaks my heart to say the BBC has decided not to renew my contract so I won't be returning to my radio show. I'm gutted. A post shared by Wynne Evans (@wynneevans) 'That show wasn't just work — it was home. It was us. We laughed, we cried, we sang like nobody was listening. And somehow, through the airwaves, we became a family.' Thanking his fans, he added: 'From the very depths of my heart — thank you. These past few months, your love has been the light in my darkest days. Every message, every word of encouragement, every moment you stood by me has carried me through more than you could ever know.' Despite Evans' BBC contract not being renewed, he has announced that The Wynne Evans Show is returning to Alexa, Google and will be available to listen on his website too. The show will be live daily and run from 9 am until 12 pm. Announcing the news in the same Instagram post, he wrote: 'This is our next adventure. And I need you more than ever. 'We will have great music, my question of the day, the mystery voice, your soundtrack stories and so much more, because we have each other again. We have a new home. I'm bringing more presenters soon and I am sure you'll recognise a few of the faces. Recommended reading: Wynne Evans 'not a misogynist' after Strictly tour remarks Wynne Evans to take time out from Strictly Come Dancing tour 'Please — sign up for the newsletter, tell your friends, share the link, and help me make a noise so loud nobody can ignore it. Most of all, tune in. I will be there every day so let's light it up together. 'I'm full of nerves. Full of hope. Full of love. Because when we show up for each other — like we always have — anything is possible.' A spokesperson for the BBC told Newsquest: 'Wynne Evans is not under contract with the BBC. 'He is not returning to the mid-morning show on BBC Radio Wales and there are currently no plans to work with him'.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Romesh Ranganathan opens up about mental health struggle
Romesh Ranganathan has said he is in "one of the best places I've ever been in my life", after years of struggling with his mental to BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, the comedian described how he had used running, reading and breathing exercises to help centre himself, after previously having suicidal thoughts."Recognising it is half the battle," he told host Lauren Laverne. "So sometimes I just go through a dark period and I know that I've got to do something about it."The broadcaster also said he often felt conflicted about how much of his own mental health journey to share publicly, noting: "You've got to be careful because it's triggering [for other people]."The way that I try and tackle that is to talk about it, I'm trying to normalise feeling like that, not that it is normal, but I'm trying to destigmatise it to make the conversation normal," he said. If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line. "You would talk about physical illness openly, ideally you would talk about [mental health] openly, and you'd express all those things, but you do also have to be mindful of the fact that people may have been affected by that."And then if I suddenly say I had thoughts about taking my own life and somebody's lost someone through that or they've had those moments themselves, you have to be sensitive to that."You don't always get it right," he reflected, "but I think the rewards outweigh the risks." The 47-year-old also said he had learned it was important to make time for activities which he knew would make him feel better."One of the things I've noticed when it comes to mental health, is you do stuff that works, and it's proven to work for you personally, and then for some reason you just stop doing it," he said."You go, 'Oh, it's really good if I spend some time reflecting, or if I run, or do a bit of reading, or some breathing exercises, that makes me feel better'."'Oh, I've done that every day for a week, I'm really feeling better, shall I just stop? Yeah!'" he laughed. "And then a few weeks later, wonder why I feel much worse than I did."The presenter, who first got into comedy in the early 2010s, picked tracks from the likes of Kanye West, Eminem and Huey Lewis and the News for Desert Island Discs, which is broadcast on Sunday. 'My mum is one of my heroes' Ranganathan, who hosts a weekend show on BBC Radio 2, also spoke about how his family had moved to the UK from Sri Lanka in 1970, before he was born eight years later."My dad was a bit of a tornado, he came over to England and he'd been so used to the Sri Lankan way of life," he recalled. "He was like a kid in a candy store, people were drinking and going out and he just threw himself into British life, wholly and completely. "And there's a strong argument he should've implemented more boundaries than he did," Ranganathan laughed. "He was the life and soul of the party." The comedian said one of his biggest regrets "is not having enough empathy or understanding" of the situation his mother, Shanthi, faced when she moved to the UK aged 19."The difference between her experience and my dad's," Ranganathan said, "is my dad was going off to work, where you're immediately thrust into social connections and situations and you're making friends just by dint of that being your lifestyle."In contrast, he said: "My mum is at home and going to the shops and doing whatever, but thinking about it now, that's a 19-year-old girl who had kids in a foreign country. I don't say this lightly, my mum is one of my heroes."He recalled that, when he was 12, his father "had fallen into financial trouble, he'd lost his job and he was trying to make money in his sort of Sri Lankan Del Boy way, and it wasn't working out and couldn't keep up the mortgage repayments on their house".His father was later arrested and imprisoned for two years for fraud, when Romesh was still a said he has always struggled with his mental health, but had a particularly challenging time as a teenager, when he was doing his A-levels and his dad was in prison. His father died in 2011."I've been through in my life a number of periods of suicide ideation," Ranganathan said, but added: "As I speak now, this is running close to one of the best places I've ever been in my life mentally."
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
EastEnders dominates British Soap Awards with eight prizes
The BBC show took home the highly anticipated award for best British soap with the trophy presented by Only Fools and Horses actor Sir David Jason. Anita Dobson, who played Angie Watts in EastEnders, attending the British Soap Awards 2025 (Ian West/PA) Steve McFadden, who plays Phil Mitchell, took home the award for Best Dramatic Performance and EastEnders also claimed the award for Best Single Episode for Phil's Psychosis which saw him hallucinate scenes from the Mitchell family home in 1985. Eastenders won Scene Of The Year for Angie Watts' shock return as a ghost during its 40th anniversary episode. Navin Chowdhry took home the Villain of the Year award for his portrayal of Nish Panesar, the calculating manipulative husband to Suki Panesar, played by Balvinder Sopal, who was killed by his son after being pushed off a balcony. Eastenders' Patsy Palmer, who plays Bianca Jackson, took home Best Comedy performance while Lacey Turner claimed Best Leading Performer for her portrayal of Stacey Slater. Best On-Screen Partnership was won by Rudolph Walker, who plays Patrick Trueman and Angela Wynter, who plays his ex-wife Yolande Trueman. Rudolph Walker and Angela Wynter won Best On-Screen Partnership (Ian West/PA) Hollyoaks took home three awards including Best Newcomer for Isabelle Smith who plays Frankie Osborne, the daughter of Suzanne Ashworth and Darren Osborne and twin sister of JJ Osborne. The Channel 4 soap won Best Storyline for raising the issue of sibling sexual abuse and the Osbornes were named Best Family. ITV's Emmerdale won Best Young Performer for 16-year old Amelia Flanagan who plays April Windsor, the half-sister of Leo Goskirk and daughter of police officer Donna Windsor and chef Marlon Dingle. The Tony Warren Award went to Emmerdale's Mike Plant. Among the stars on the red carpet were Hollyoaks actress Jorgie Porter (left) and Coronation Street actress Tina O'Brien who wore the same dress (Ian West/PA) Coronation Street took home only one prize with an outstanding achievement award for David Neilson, cafe owner Roy Cropper, who joined the show nearly three decades ago. The award was presented by Julie Hesmondhalgh who played Roy's late wife Hayley Cropper. Among the stars on the red carpet on Saturday evening were Hollyoaks actress Jorgi Porter and Coronation Street's Tina O'Brien who had chosen the the same dress. The awards will air at 8pm on Thursday June 5 on ITV1 and ITVX.
