Gary Lineker says his time is nearly up as Match of the Day presenter, names likely replacement

Gary Lineker had admitted his time as Match of the Day host is "nearly up" after he was taken off the air by the BBC just a few months ago.

Following comments on social media, Lineker was told to step back by the BBC and a monumental boycott of the channel's sports programming took place on Saturday 11 March.

Commentators, pundits and presenters snubbed scheduled appearances in solidarity with Lineker, to the point the show went ahead without the iconic intro, commentary, analysis or interviews and lasted just 20 minutes.

Lineker returned to the BBC and presented coverage of Manchester City's FA Cup rout over Burnley but the former England striker doesn't think he will be in the role for much longer.

In fact, he believes Jermaine Jenas is in place to replace him, having been tipped by many to be Lineker's eventual successor.

"Obviously there are a lot of pundits who didn't make the list we were given," Lineker said on a BBC MOTD top 10 podcast ranking the best pundits alongside Micah Richards and Alan Shearer.

"The likes of Andy Gray, Danny Murphy who is a brilliant analyst, Jermaine Jenas - who is probably drifting more towards my role. I think Jermaine is doing it really well as well, doing The One Show."

Image: Alamy

Richards asked Lineker whether he was "nervous" about no longer presenting the show he has anchored for since 1999, leading to Lineker's admission.

He replied: "Nervous? I'm ancient. My time is nearly up.".

Lineker is expected to return to Match of the Day for the upcoming season which is set to air on Saturday the 12th August.

Image: Alamy

Lineker took over the post from Des Lynam and developed into one of the best presenters in the industry in a seamless transition from the pitch to the studio.