Gary Lineker Age, Height & Biography

Gary Lineker is an English former professional footballer and one of the most famous broadcasters in British sport. As a striker he won the Golden Boot at the 1986 World Cup and scored 48 goals in 80 appearances for England, famously without ever being shown a yellow or red card in his career. After retiring in 1994 he became the presenter of BBC’s Match of the Day, a role he held for 26 years until 2025.

Quick Facts

Who Is Gary Lineker?

Gary Lineker is one of England’s greatest ever strikers. A natural goalscorer with superb movement in the penalty area, he played for Leicester City, Everton, Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur and Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan. He won the World Cup Golden Boot in 1986, scoring six goals in Mexico, and his 10 World Cup goals remain an England record. In 80 appearances for his country he scored 48 goals, making him England’s third-highest goalscorer of all time.

After football, Lineker became one of Britain’s best-known television presenters. He hosted Match of the Day, the BBC’s flagship football programme, from 1999 to 2025, and he also presented the BBC’s coverage of major tournaments, Sports Personality of the Year and golf. He now co-hosts The Rest Is Football, one of the UK’s most popular sports podcasts.

Early Life & Background

Gary Winston Lineker was born on 30 November 1960 in Leicester, England. His father Barry ran a fruit and vegetable stall at Leicester Market, and as a boy Gary worked on the family stall. He attended Caldecote Road School and the City of Leicester Boys’ Grammar School, and he played youth football for Aylestone Park before joining Leicester City as an apprentice.

Lineker turned professional with Leicester City in 1978 and made his senior debut on New Year’s Day 1979 against Oldham Athletic. He became a regular in the Leicester side and helped the club win promotion to the First Division in 1983. In his seven years at Filbert Street he scored 103 goals in 216 appearances, and in 1985 First Division champions Everton signed him.

Career

Lineker scored 30 league goals in his single season at Everton and was named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 1986. After starring at the 1986 World Cup, where he won the Golden Boot with six goals, he joined Barcelona. In three seasons in Spain he won the Copa del Rey in 1988 and the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1989. He returned to England with Tottenham Hotspur in 1989 and won the FA Cup with the club in 1991, before finishing his playing career in Japan with Nagoya Grampus Eight, retiring in 1994.

For England, Lineker made his debut in 1984 against Scotland and went on to win 80 caps, scoring 48 goals. He played at the 1986 and 1990 World Cups, reaching the semi-finals in Italy in 1990, and at Euro 1988 and Euro 1992. He is the only Englishman ever to win the World Cup Golden Boot, and his 10 goals at World Cup finals are still an England record. Remarkably, in a professional career lasting 16 years, Lineker was never once shown a yellow or red card.

Lineker began his broadcasting career with the BBC while he was still playing, and after retiring he became a regular presenter. He took over as the host of Match of the Day in 1999, succeeding Des Lynam, and he presented the programme for 26 years, becoming one of the most recognisable faces on British television. He announced in 2024 that he would step down at the end of the 2024-25 season, and he left the BBC in May 2025. He continues to co-host The Rest Is Football podcast, which he launched with former England internationals Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.

Facts About Gary Lineker

• He is the only Englishman ever to win the World Cup Golden Boot, doing so in 1986.
• He was never shown a yellow or red card in his entire 16-year professional career.
• His 10 World Cup goals are still an England record.
• He is England’s third-highest goalscorer, behind Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney.
• As a boy, he worked on his father’s fruit and vegetable stall at Leicester Market.

Frequently Asked Questions