Gary Lineker is unlikely to tune in to tonight’s BBC Match of the Day episode – if previous comments from the 64-year-old are anything to go by.
The former England, Tottenham, Leicester and Barcelona star left programme earlier this year, with Mark Chapman, Kelly Cates and Gabby Logan appointed as his three replacements.
Lineker had been hosting the show ever since 1999 but, with the BBC eager to revamp the programme, announced his departure last November.
He had originally been set to stick with the broadcaster until the 2026 World Cup but has left ahead of schedule following an anti-Semitism row.
Chapman will spearhead the BBC’s coverage of Match of the Day tonight in the show’s first episode since Lineker’s departure.
Yet the former England striker will, it seems, not be tuning in live tonight.
Speaking earlier in the year to Four Four Two, Lineker confirmed that he was unlikely to watch MOTD on Saturdays unless he was ‘in’.
And he also endorsed his three replacements, too, insisting they’ve got the credentials to be huge successes.
“I haven’t seen them yet to speak to them, but I will do – they’ll be fine and they’ll do a great job,” he told the publication.
“I’ve known them all for years, they’re top presenters.
“I’ll be watching, but probably on iPlayer… I don’t think I’ll be watching on Saturday. Maybe the odd time, if I’m in.”
Lineker also opened up on why the BBC have chosen three successors, instead of just one, in what represents a major break from tradition.
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“That’s probably down to the fact it’s a massive commitment,” he continued.
“Those three have all got families, and if you’re saying someone is going to do it for the next 10 or 20 years, then your weekends are gone.
“That might be it, I don’t know. I didn’t get involved in any of that.
“I take it as a compliment that they’ve named three, but I suspect it’s not due to that.”
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Cates, meanwhile, confirmed earlier this week that she hadn’t spoken to Lineker about the role – and was determined to do things her own way.
“No he hasn’t got in touch and I haven’t got in touch with him, but not because we’re not avoiding each other,” she said.
“We just don’t know each other.
“I know Gary to say hello to (but) we just don’t know each other that well. And I think Chappers was saying that Gary said: ‘Well, why would I tell three broadcasters how to do their job?’ which is very lovely of him because he was brilliant at the job and adored.
“And as much as he was a controversial character at times, any focus group that was researching will tell you how much he was adored in that role.
“So I think from my point of view, the reason not to do it would be, I don’t want to be Gary. I think there’s a temptation to try and be someone else, and I think that you get a job because of yourself.
“And if then you try to be someone else, it can all just get a bit confused. I don’t need another thing to think about.
“I don’t need to be sitting there thinking: ‘What would Gary do?’ It’s not a decision not to. It’s just we don’t have that relationship.”