Gary Linerthe departure of Match of the day the end of the season has been confirmed by the BBC.

The 63-year-old will then leave the BBC after leading the company’s coverage of the 2026 World Cup in the UNITED STATESMexico and Canadaaccording to The Sun.

Speaking after a contract, which will see the former England captain continue his relationship with the BBC in a reduced capacity, was agreed in principle, Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport, said: “Gary is a presenter world class.

“We are delighted that he will lead our coverage of the upcoming World Cup and continue to lead our live coverage of the FA Cup.

“After 25 seasons, Gary is leaving MOTD. We would like to thank him for everything he has done for the show, which continues to attract millions of viewers each week. We will miss him greatly on the show, but we will We’re so happy he’s staying with the BBC to present live football.

Lineker, who regularly tops public lists of the BBC’s highest earnershas presented Match of the Day since 1999, but speculation about its future has increased in recent months.

According to a source, Kay-Jelski disagrees with Lineker and wants to bring in “new faces.”

“Negotiations have been going on for six weeks and finally an agreement was reached that satisfies everyone,” said a source quoted by The Sun.

In March last year, Lineker was briefly suspended from hosting the program after his tweet about the UK government’s asylum policy sparked a row over BBC presenters expressing their political views on social media.

Shearer’s fellow presenters and pundits, including Alan Shearer and Ian Wright, refused to appear on the show in solidarity with Lineker and it was reduced to a 20-minute highlights package, which contained no hosts , expert or comment. Lineker was reinstated just over a week later.

Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan and Alex Scott are favorites to succeed Lineker, but one potential replacement, Jermaine Jenas, was fired by the BBC in September following an investigation into inappropriate behavior.

Lineker took over from Des Lynam as host of Match of the Day in 1999, having started as a presenter on BBC Radio Five Live and also worked on Tribune.

No stranger to headlines, the former Tottenham, Everton and Barcelona striker fronted the program in his underpants in 2016 to fulfill a promise after boyhood club Leicester won the Premier League.

Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy paid tribute to the long-serving presenter.

The former Liverpool and Tottenham midfielder told talkSPORT: “He’s been phenomenal with me from 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, on a Saturday night.

“He gets along a bit, just because he looks good for his age doesn’t mean he’s not old.” He’s starting to get tired with old age, he probably just wants to cook his Sunday roast.

MORE : “I’ve worked alongside Gary Lineker for years, here’s who should be the next MOTD host”

MORE : Today’s Next Match Presenter Odds: Who is the favorite to replace Gary Lineker?

MORE : Taskmaster winner and comedian confirmed for Strictly Christmas special line-up