Gary Lineker's net worth, dating history and THAT on pitch incident

Gary Lineker is one of the most recognisable faces in British sport, having enjoyed a stellar career on the football pitch before moving into television full-time

Football icon and Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has had a distinguished career both on the football pitch and in the television studio. He's been the face of the much-loved BBC show since 1999, following a successful footballing career with Leicester City, Everton, Barcelona, Tottenham and Grampus Eight in Japan, earning him 80 England caps.

Unfortunately, his playing days didn't coincide with the Premier League's financial boom, and it's his TV work that has significantly boosted his wealth. According to the Mirror, his football career, media roles with the BBC and TNT Sport, and advertising campaigns with brands like Walkers crisps have contributed to a net worth of £30million.

The 63 year old father of four has once again topped the BBC's list of highest-paid stars, as revealed in their 2023 annual report. With earnings of £1.35 million for the financial year, he leads the pack for the sixth consecutive year, followed by Zoe Ball of BBC Radio 2, who earned £980,000.

Lineker's personal life has been as colourful as his career. He first married Michelle Cockayne in 1986, and they had four sons: George, Harry, Tobias, and Angus.

After two decades together, they separated. In 2009, Lineker married Welsh model Danielle Bux, who is 20 years his junior, reports Leicestershire Live.

Despite their marriage ending in 2016, they remain close friends. Danielle has since remarried American lawyer Nate Greenwald.

Discussing his friendly rapport with his ex-wife, Lineker told Radio Times: "He's not got a jealous bone in his body. We get on really well. We go out for dinner when I'm in LA. It might be unusual and people might go, 'That's weird' but, frankly, I don't care. What is normal? Is it better to get divorced and end up fighting, screaming and shouting? Or is it better to get on if you can? "

The Leicester-born celebrity also opened up about his personal life to The Times last year, revealing that he was single at the time. " I am single," he said to The Times: "I like being on my own. I know it sounds a bit mad. I have lots of company. I've got lots of friends and I've also got my boys... I don't feel lonely. I have the odd date here and there but nothing serious, not in terms of a long relationship."

He added, "I've been married most of my adult life. Two really good marriages, I'm friends with both," and shared, "I'm not saying whether it'll change. It might do. I don't know. But at the minute I'm very comfortable."

Reflecting on one of his more embarrassing moments during his England career, Lineker recounted the incident where he was caught short on the pitch.

During the 1990 World Cup in Italy, the footballer had a troublesome stomach during the match against the Republic of Ireland. "I hadn't been feeling well the night before.... But I didn't tell anyone because I wanted to play," he recalled.

"About 15 minutes into the second half I start to cramp and I think 'Oh, God, I've got a pain here."

"The ball comes out on his left side and I slid for it, and as I was doing that I relaxed a little bit...and boof. 'Oh, my God,' I said to myself. And I'm sitting on the ground and it's all there."

"You can see me look up and Gary Stevens comes over and I remember him saying to me, 'Links, what's wrong? ' and I said, 'I've shat myself'. I felt like crying. Thank God we had the dark blue shorts and not the white shorts."