Gary Lineker breaks his silence on his Match of the Day future after swirling rumours of his BBC departure

Gary Lineker has revealed his contract situation at the BBC after rumors suggested his time hosting Match of the Day was coming to an end.

Last week, MailOnline revealed that Lineker’s future on the show could be in doubt after seeing an email that appeared to show a statement was being prepared for his departure.

However, after hosting the show as usual on Saturday, Lineker revealed that talks over his future on the football program are ongoing.

“It’s been a strange few days,” he said on The Rest Is Football podcast. “As you know, something like that [Liverpool stars] Trent [Alexander-Arnold]like Virgil [Van Dijk]like Mo [Salah]My contract expires in the summer.

‘It is normal that at some point you have to have conversations and they have only just begun. I don’t know why it all went out of hand, but everything is fine.’

It is understood Lineker is in a standoff with his bosses over his £1.35million pay package, as negotiations between the host and his bosses continue.

It has been reported that the former England captain is willing to take a pay cut of around £350,000 to stay put.

Rumors of a proposed departure began to circulate when the draft email, believed to be written by new BBC sporting director Alex Jay-Kelski, appeared to indicate that Saturday night’s Match of the Day would be Lineker’s last .

However, the host seemed in good spirits when the cameras started rolling and even opened the show by joking about his future.

“Seven games on the road and it’s my last show… before the international break,” Lineker said with a smile.

Although the authenticity of the email seen by MailOnline is impossible to verify, the BBC has not disowned it.

When asked for comment by the BBC, he said: “We have nothing to announce and we have not yet agreed on the next steps regarding his contract. He has a contract until the end of the season.’

More to follow.