Sport
Sinead Butler
May 08, 2022
The Late Late Show with James Corden
Gary Lineker is known for his witty tweets, so when rumours started flying around about the Match of the Day host being replaced, he responded in the best way.
The 61-year-old former professional footballer has presented the programme since 1999 and is the BBC's highest earner with a £1.36m salary in his job where he and fellow pundits analyse the football highlights from the Premier League.
When comedian and actor James Corden recently announced he was quitting his hosting duties on the late-night US talk show The Late, Late Show with James Corden after eight years and his final episode will air in the summer of 2023.
"I have some news of my own to share with you. Seven and a half years ago, I started hosting this show. And there is no other way to put it, it has changed my life," Corden said in his announcement on his show.
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Rumours began to swirl that Corden may become the new host of MOTD - especially since a source told The Daily Mailthat the Brit turned down a £40m offer to continue his late-night gig because he wants to spend more time in the UK.
After speculation about this spread on social media, Lineker has now set the record straight to his 8.4m followers on Twitter.
"Getting a number of texts from friends asking if I’m quitting @BBCMOTD after reports on Twitter of my possible successor," he tweeted.
"So it’s only fair I give you the bad news now: I’m afraid I still have 3 years to run on my contract, so you’re stuck with me for a while."
Getting a number of texts from friends asking if I\u2019m quitting @BBCMOTD after reports on Twitter of my possible successor. So it\u2019s only fair I give you the bad news now: I\u2019m afraid I still have 3 years to run on my contract, so you\u2019re stuck with me for a while.— Gary Lineker \ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9b (@Gary Lineker \ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9b) 1651949643
Therefore, footy fans can expect to see Lineker on MOTD for the foreseeable - at least until 2025...
Elsewhere, Corden has revealed what he intends to do next in this career after his talk show ends - and football wasn't mentioned.
"There's still some other things that I feel I want to do," the 43-year-old told Deadline.
"I'd like to try and write. There's some [stories] I'd like to tell. I'd like to see if I'm capable of it. The fact that it's terrifying is the reason to do it."
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