Richard Keys Breaks Silence on beIN Sports Exit as Reason For Departure Revealed

Richard Keys has addressed reports that suggest he will retire from live sports broadcasting at the end of the 2025-26 season after his departure from beIN Sports was all but confirmed.

The 68-year-old presenter, who joined beIN Sports in 2013 alongside former Sky colleague Andy Gray, is set to part ways with the Qatar-based broadcaster when his contract expires in the summer.

Keys and Gray moved to the Middle East following their exit from Sky Sports in 2011. They left the company after a clip was leaked of them making sexist remarks about assistant referee Sian Massey.

Since joining beIN, the pair have led coverage of the Premier League and Champions League in 24 countries across the Middle East and North Africa.

Last week, a report from The Telegraph suggested both Keys and Gray would leave beIN Sports and 'could quit live football presenting for good.'

Keys confirmed in a recent blog post that it was time to "move on" from the Qatar-based company, but he played down suggestions that retirement is on the cards, claiming there is "a whole lot more to come yet".

"There has been no fall out between myself and beINSPORTS," he wrote. "I’ve loved every minute of my time in Qatar - a country that means the world to me. I have a deep affection for it, but it’s time for me to move on."

Keys added: "I’m not retiring - simply changing course. There’s a whole lot more to come yet."

Last week, a spokesman for Keys told the Daily Mail that both Keys and Gray had decided to leave beIN Sports after it was mutually agreed that his final broadcasts for the channel would be in May 2026.

BeIN, meanwhile, are keen to freshen up its talent roster for the future.

Gray and Keys are said to be planning to return to the UK, with the latter set to move in permanently with wife, Lucie Rose. The pair have been in a long-distance marriage since they got married in June 2023.