Gary Lineker admits time on Match of the Day is 'nearly up' and predicts successor

Gary Lineker has admitted his time on Match of the Day is ‘nearly up’, having named another presenter he feels could eventually fill his shoes.

Lineker, 62, has hosted the long-running BBC football programme since 1999 after taking over from Des Lynam.

He recently found himself suspended after posting a tweet that criticised the UK government over its handling of the migrant crisis, which the BBC argued breached employee social media guidelines.

However, it wasn’t long before Lineker was reinstated as host while the BBC vowed to undertake a review of such guidelines.

But while he’s back in the hot seat, the presenter feels his time is still limited, joking how he is now ‘ancient’.

BBC

Speaking about the gig on a recent episode of the Match of the Day: Top 10 podcast, he discussed potential successors alongside Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.

According to Lineker, there are a few who are smashing it as pundits right now, but there’s one who sticks out for him.

As the trio rated the best football pundits, he said: "Obviously there are a lot of pundits who didn't make the list we were given.

"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."

Jenas, 40, made his name as a professional football player, serving as central midfielder for a number of English clubs including Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers, along with 21 appearances on the national squad.

BBC

These days, he presents The One Show alongside Alex Jones, having also hosted sporting coverage for the likes of BT Sport and ITV Sport.

When Richards asked Lineker if he felt ‘nervous’ about the possibility of losing his spot on the programme, he replied: "Nervous? I'm ancient. My time is nearly up."

After the controversy of his tweet – and the boycott of several of his co-presenters – Lineker returned to BBC screens to host FA Cup coverage on 18 March.

He pulled out of covering the Brighton v Grimsby match the next day due to illness, and last Saturday was off due to being on holiday.

Confirming his return for the following week, he tweeted: "Just so there’s no misunderstanding, I won’t be doing @BBCMOTD tonight. I’m not suspended, just on holiday. Back next week."