Gary Lineker has reportedly agreed an ‘extraordinarily lucrative’ deal to appear on Netflix during next year’s World Cup. The 64-year-old quit the BBC in May after spending three decades with the corporation.

After a spell as a football pundit, Lineker began presenting Match of the Day in 1999 and went on to become the Beeb’s highest-paid star. But he was suspended in 2023 following comments he made about a Conservative government immigration policy. And just before his departure, he apologised after sharing a social media post that included a widely offensive image associated with antisemitism.

Following his BBC exit, Lineker signed a deal with ITV to present a Saturday night game show called The Box. And he has also been keeping himself busy with The Rest is Football podcast, which he launched just over two years ago.

The show was previously aired on BBC Sounds, but no longer features on the Beeb’s platforms. And, according to the Daily Mail, Lineker is set to host the podcast for Netflix from North America at the World Cup.

The tournament will be co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, and will get underway on Thursday, June 11.

A source close to the deal told the publication: “The Rest is Football is currently available to watch on YouTube but it has not been affiliated to any other network or broadcaster. This is all new for Netflix and it is being described as an exciting new thing amongst the bosses there.

“It will mean that Gary gets a huge payday. It is an extremely popular show, but when he left the BBC he took it with him.

“This will mean that its profile will catapult again, as well as meaning that Gary will go to the World Cup after all, just in a very different capacity.”

Lineker was due to present the BBC’s coverage of the World Cup after it was announced that he would step down as Match of the Day host last November.

But the former England striker ended up leaving the BBC early, with his final appearance on Match of the Day coming on the last day of the 2024/25 Premier League season.

Lineker will now be planning for the World Cup and appearing in front of a completely new audience. But it is unknown if his co-stars on The Rest is Football, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, will be joining him for the Netflix show.

Shearer and Richards have proved popular alongside Lineker, and may be in the USA anyway as they currently work as pundits for Match of the Day.