REVEALED: How Gary Lineker feels about his Match of The Day replacements as he prepares to step down as host of iconic show next month

Gary Lineker has opened up connected however helium feels astir his Match of The Day replacements. 

The experienced anchor volition measurement down arsenic big of the iconic programme successful May, bringing an extremity to his 26-year spell successful the show's blistery seat 

Mail Sport antecedently revealed that Kelly Cates would stock hosting responsibilities of the flagship play Premier League highlights amusement and its midweek Champions League bundle alongside Gabby Logan and Mark Chapman from adjacent season.

And Lineker has backed the BBC's determination to divided hosting duties betwixt the 3 'top presenters'. 

'That's astir apt down to the information it's a monolithic commitment,' Lineker told FourFourTwo magazine. 'Those 3 person each got families, and if you're saying idiosyncratic is going to bash it for the adjacent 10 oregon 20 years, past your weekends are gone.

'That mightiness beryllium it, I don't know. I didn't get progressive successful immoderate of that. I instrumentality it arsenic a compliment that they've named three, but I fishy it's not owed to that.

'I haven't seen them yet to talk to them, but I volition bash - they'll beryllium good and they'll bash a large job. I've known them each for years, they're apical presenters. I'll beryllium watching, but astir apt connected iPlayer… I don't deliberation I'll beryllium watching connected Saturday. Maybe the unusual time, if I'm in.' 

The 64-year-old besides hinted helium whitethorn measurement distant from sports presenting entirely, saying: 'I don't deliberation you'll spot maine doing overmuch football, isolated from the podcast.'

Lineker past added: 'I'll bash the unusual thing, but I don't deliberation you'll spot maine appearing regularly connected different channel.'

Lineker will proceed to beforehand the BBC's sum of adjacent season's FA Cup and the 2026 World Cup earlier walking distant wholly from the corp to absorption connected his ain ventures. 

The erstwhile England international's podcast institution recorded a staggering £1.4million nett past year.

He founded Goalhanger Podcasts successful 2019 and its bid of shows, including The Rest Is Football, The Rest Is Politics and The Rest Is History, person regularly topped the charts, raking successful millions of listeners and boasting increasing audiences.

Its assets jumped implicit the past 12 months with accounts filed astatine Companies House showing its retained net roseate from £590,000 successful 2023 to £2.03m past year, a £1.4m rise. 

Cash successful the slope besides accrued from £560,000 to £2.7m.

Lineker himself presents The Rest Is Football, a fashionable amusement covering the sport's biggest talking points, alongside BBC colleagues Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.

According to the business, its 13 cardinal shows amassed much than 400m audio downloads and implicit 85m views connected YouTube crossed 2024.

During Euro 2024, Lineker's podcast was downloaded 19.6m times.