Overview
- Lineker told the Louis Theroux podcast on Monday that his long partnership with the BBC had 'started to run out of love' and that he accelerated his May 2025 departure as a sensible step.
- He reiterated an apology for an Instagram post that included a rat image, saying he did not see the visual and that the mistake sped up scrutiny of his social media activity.
- Since leaving the BBC, Lineker’s company Goalhanger has grown rapidly, reporting about £37.9m in 2025 sales and taking on outside investment in a deal reported to value the firm above £100m.
- Goalhanger has a reported Netflix agreement to produce daily editions of The Rest Is Football for the 2026 World Cup, with Lineker joined by Alan Shearer and Micah Richards and a Times Square studio planned for coverage.
- The story traces back to a 2023 BBC suspension over social posts and staff solidarity, and it raises questions about how impartiality rules and presenter social media use shape broadcasters and commercial sports media going forward.