Gary Lineker has said he felt the BBC wanted him to leave Match Of The Day when he was negotiating a new contract with the broadcaster.
It was announced in November 2024, that the presenter would leave Match of the Day after the end of the season and will be replaced by Gabby Logan, Kelly Cates, and Mark Chapman.
Despite stepping down from Match of the Day, Lineker will continue to lead the BBC's coverage of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico as well as next season's FA Cup.
The former Leicester City and England forward, who became one of the BBC's best paid broadcasters after retiring from playing, said he had a sense that the BBC no longer wanted him hosting their flagship football show.
"It's time. I've done it for a long time, it's been brilliant," Lineker told the BBC. "Well, perhaps they want me to leave ... There was a sense of that.
"I always wanted one more contract. It was their preference that I didn't do Match Of The Day for one more year so they could bring in new people, so it's slightly unusual that I would do the FA Cup and the World Cup, but, to be honest, it's a scenario that suits me perfectly."
In March 2023, Lineker was suspended from the BBC following comments he made on social media, criticising the then-government's immigration policy.
Lineker called a government asylum policy "immeasurably cruel," and said the language used as "not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the '30s."
Upon reflection, the 64-year-old said he does not regret the posts, however he would not do it again as he "didn't like the damage" caused to the BBC.
"I don't regret saying them publicly, because I was right -- what I said, it was accurate -- so not at all in that sense.
"But I wouldn't do it again because of all the kerfuffle that followed, and I love the BBC, and I didn't like the damage that it did to the BBC ... But do I regret it and do I think it was the wrong thing to do? No."