Gary Lineker’s son paid a touching tribute to his famous dad as he wrapped his final ever Match of the Day appearance just days after he dramatically quit his BBC roles

Gary Lineker’s son has insisted nobody will present Match of the Day like his dad as the broadcaster signed off the BBC show for the final time last night. The footballing legend fought back tears as he closed the show, saying it had been an “absolute privilege.”

The player-turned-pundit’s early departure from the BBC follows a social media row after the 64-year-old shared a post about Zionism, which featured a depiction of a rat, historically an antisemitic insult.

Lineker was forced to apologise for the post, which saw him lose his job presenting the 2026 World Cup for the BBC. As his final ever Match of the Day came to an end, it appeared to be an emotional moment for Lineker.

Alan Shearer and Micah Richards presented him with a Match of the Day cap and Golden Boot, before a video message from Andrea Bocelli was played. After the episode aired, Gary’s son George took to social media, sharing a string of snaps of the former footballer over the years.

“The [goat emoji],” he said while sharing a clip of Gary’s final sign-off. Prior to the episode starting, George shared a snap of his dad in a commentary studio. “Enjoy your last MOTD Gaz [goat emoji,” he said. George added: “Best there is. Best there will be.” The term goat is short for “greatest of all time”

When it emerged that Gary had dramatically quit his roles at the corporation, George shared a string of images supporting his dad. He said: “Proud of you Gaz – 25 years at the top of your game. Match of the Day won’t be the same without you. The best there is. The best there will be.”

In the days before his departure was announced, Lineker is reported to have left his colleagues in little doubt over his feelings towards BBC director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski. Lineker is said to have snubbed Kay-Jelski while working at the FA Cup final – which took place days before his exit announcement – before making remarks about the BBC boss. The Sun claim a source said: “By the end of Gary’s tenure at BBC Sport he didn’t have much time for Alex.

“When he was working on the FA Cup final, just two days before he quit, Alex came over to where Gary was and he just walked off without a word. He made a couple of remarks about Alex in earshot of people working around them. It’s clear there’s no love lost. Gary is really well liked and there are plenty of people who joked that they agreed with what he said.”

Last night viewers saw Gary become choked with emotion as he made his final ever sign-off. “I don’t know whether I can speak,” Gary said, visibly emotional. “I’ll try, I’ll try… For one last time, here’s the Premier League table. And I can’t find a copy, so you can just read it for yourselves, because it doesn’t matter.”

After noting that “one of the teams that is going down is Leicester, which isn’t how I wanted to end it”, he moved onto his closing statement. “Alan and Micah, I suspect our paths will cross again very shortly,” he said before addressing the camera.

He went on to add: “Let me take this opportunity to thank all of the other pundits that I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the last 25 years, you’ve made my job so much easier. Also, a huge thank you to those you don’t see at home: the work that goes into making this iconic show is a huge team effort.

“From the editors, to the analysis team, from the commentators to the floor managers, from the producers to the camera operators, from the PAs to the subs, thank you all, you’re the very best. Rather like my football career, everyone else did all the hard work and I got the plaudits.

“It’s been an absolute privilege to host Match of the Day for a quarter of a century. It’s been utterly joyous. I’d like to wish Gabby, Mark and Kelly for when they sit in this chair – the programme is in the best of hands.

“And my final thank you goes to all of you. Thank you for watching. Thank you for all of your love and support over the years. It’s been so special – and I’m sorry that your team was always on last. Time to say goodbye. Goodbye.”

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