Gary Winston Lineker, born on November 30, 1960, is a well-known sports broadcaster and former professional footballer from England. He played as a striker and is the only player to have finished as the top goalscorer in England for three different clubs: Leicester City, Everton, and Tottenham Hotspur. He also had a stint at Barcelona in Spain and earned 80 caps playing for England’s national team.
Lineker’s broadcasting career took off with the BBC, where he has been the main presenter of the famous football show Match of the Day since the late 1990s — making him the longest-serving host in the show’s history. He’s also the BBC’s lead live football announcer for major tournaments like the FIFA World Cup. Besides the BBC, he has worked with channels like Al Jazeera Sports, Eredivisie Live, NBC Sports, and BT Sport, especially covering the UEFA Champions League.
His football journey started at Leicester City in 1978. By 1984–85, he was the joint top goalscorer in England’s First Division. He then moved to Everton, where he had a star debut season, winning awards like the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year. Later, he transferred to Barcelona, winning the Copa del Rey in 1988 and the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1989. In 1989, he joined Tottenham Hotspur, where he won the FA Cup and received his second FWA award. His last club was Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan, where he played until retiring in 1994.
Lineker debuted for England in 1984. Over his international career, he earned 80 caps and scored 48 goals. When he retired, he was England’s second-highest scorer, a record now held by Harry Kane. His goals at the 1986 World Cup made him the tournament’s top scorer, earning the Golden Boot, and he finished second in the Ballon d’Or that year. He also played a key role in England reaching the semi-finals in 1990, scoring four more goals and maintaining the country’s record for World Cup goals.
Remarkably, Lineker never received a yellow or red card during his career. Although he never won a league title, he was awarded the FIFA Fair Play Award in 1990. Throughout his 16-year career, he played 654 competitive games and scored 331 goals — 283 of those at club level. After retiring, he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame. A passionate supporter of Leicester City, he even led a group of investors in 2002 that helped save the club from bankruptcy and was named an honorary vice-president.