Gary Lineker, a retired English footballer and sports presenter, has accumulated a net worth of $35 million. He holds the English record for most goals in FIFA World Cup finals with ten.
Gary Lineker is a former English footballer and sports commentator whose net worth stands at $35 million as of 2026. He holds the record for the most goals scored by an English player in FIFA World Cup finals, with a total of ten. His professional career began at his local team, Leicester City, where he played from 1978 until 1985, netting 95 goals in 194 appearances. In the 1985-86 season, he joined Everton, scoring 30 goals in 41 matches. Lineker then moved to Barcelona in 1986, where he found the net 42 times in 103 games. That same year, he claimed the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot award. In 1989, Gary Lineker signed with Tottenham Hotspur, playing 105 matches and scoring 67 goals. His final club was Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan, where he made 18 appearances and scored four times. Throughout his 16-year career, combining club and international play, he amassed 330 goals. Following his retirement from football, he transitioned into broadcasting, joining the BBC to host their prominent football program, 'Match of the Day.' In 2003, Lineker was honored with an induction into the English Football Hall of Fame. He also contributed written pieces to 'The Sunday Telegraph' and began working with NBC Sports Network in 2013. Lineker left the BBC in May 2025 after sharing a social media post that was unintentionally perceived as antisemitic. Beyond broadcasting, Lineker founded Goalhanger Films and Goalhanger Podcasts, the latter producing the widely popular show 'The Rest Is History.' In 2017, reports showed that the BBC paid him an annual salary of $3 million to host 'Match of the Day,' making him the highest-paid individual at the BBC at that time. Born Gary Winston Lineker on November 30, 1960, in Leicester, England, he is the son of Barry and Margaret Lineker and has a younger brother named Wayne, with whom he played football during his youth. His middle name honors former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who shared the same birthday. Lineker comes from a family of greengrocers; his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all worked in the fruit and vegetable trade, with Barry running a stall at Leicester Market. As a child, Lineker often assisted his father at the market. Despite facing racial abuse due to his darker complexion, he excelled in both rugby and football. He captained the Leicestershire Schools cricket team from ages 11 to 16 and played for Aylestone Park Youth football club, later becoming its president. Lineker earned four O levels upon leaving school, though one teacher noted on his report that he 'focused too much on football' and would 'never make a living at that.' In 1976, he enrolled in Leicester City's youth academy. From 1995 to 2003, Lineker served as a team captain on the sports quiz show 'They Think It's All Over.' He also presented the sports program 'Grandstand' and became the BBC's highest-paid presenter after being named its lead football anchor, covering 'Match of the Day.' Additionally, he hosted golf coverage for the BBC and Premier League matches for NBCSN. In November 2024, Gary announced his departure from 'Match of the Day' following the conclusion of the 2024–25 Premier League season. In 1994, he signed a £200,000 deal to appear in advertisements for Walkers snacks. Lineker has also made appearances on television programs such as 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?,' 'Who Do You Think You Are?,' and 'Ted Lasso,' as well as the film 'Bend It Like Beckham.' In 2014, he established the production company Goalhanger Films Ltd., which produced the BBC documentary 'Gary Lineker on the Road to FA Cup Glory.' He currently oversees Goalhanger Podcasts, which produces his podcast 'The Rest is Football' alongside other popular shows like 'The Rest is History' and 'The Rest is Politics.' Gary married Michelle Cockayne in July 1986, and the couple had four sons before divorcing in 2006. Their eldest son survived leukemia as a baby, receiving treatment at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital. Lineker is a strong advocate for the children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent and has appeared in campaigns encouraging blood donations. He and Michelle were patrons of Leukaemia Busters from 1994 to 2005, and Lineker has also supported Cancer Research UK and Fight for Life. Gary wed Danielle Bux on September 1, 2009, in Italy, but the couple divorced in 2016, reportedly due to Lineker's reluctance to have more children. In 1995, he was granted the freedom of the City of Leicester and is often referred to as 'Leicester's favorite son.' In 2002, he backed a £5 million bid to rescue Leicester City, his former club, and was subsequently named honorary Vice President after the club avoided liquidation. In 2017, Gary Lineker was among several British celebrities named in the Paradise Papers for owning property in Barbados through offshore companies, which could have allowed them to avoid local taxes upon selling the properties. In March 2023, he successfully appealed against HM Revenue and Customs, which had attempted to charge him £4.9 million in income taxes for his work with BT Sport and the BBC between 2013-2014 and 2017-2018. HM Revenue and Customs argued that Lineker was an employee of both companies simultaneously, but a judge ruled he was instead a freelancer. Later that month, Lineker criticized the British government's asylum policies on Twitter, leading the BBC to state that his recent social media activity breached their guidelines. The network announced that Lineker would not present 'Match of the Day' until a clear social media policy for freelancers was established. Many of his BBC Sport colleagues withdrew from their roles in solidarity, and the program aired without hosts or studio presentation for a brief period. Three days after the suspension, the BBC reinstated Lineker and committed to an independent review of social media guidelines for non-news freelancers. Gary Lineker earned the PFA Players' Player of the Year award for the 1985–86 season and received the FWA Footballer of the Year accolade for both the 1985–86 and 1991–92 seasons. He topped the English First Division scoring charts in 1984–85, 1985–86, and 1989–90, and was the leading scorer in the English Second Division during the 1982–83 season. In 1986, he finished as the runner-up for the Ballon d'Or, claimed the Onze de Bronze, won the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot, and was named to the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team. Lineker also secured the Onze Mondial awards in 1986 and 1987, received the FIFA Fair Play Award in 1990, the FIFA World Player of the Year bronze prize in 1991, and the FWA Tribute Award in 1997. He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003, appointed a Visiting Fellow at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, in 2020, and awarded an Honorary Master of Arts by Loughborough University in 1992. For his television work, he won the Television and Radio Industries Club Awards for Sports Presenter in 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2011. In 2017, he received a nomination for the National Television Award for Most Popular TV Presenter for 'Match of the Day.' Gary Lineker resides in a £4 million mansion located in South London, featuring a personal gym, a private cinema, and a garden complete with a wooden pergola and a fire pit.