As one of the most talked-about figures, Gary Lineker has built a significant fortune. Our team analyzed the latest data to provide a clear picture of their income.
What Is Gary Lineker's Net Worth?
Gary is also the founder of Goalhanger Films and Goalhanger Podcasts. Goalhanger Podcasts produces the extremely popular show "The Rest Is History."
Gary Lineker is a retired English footballer and sports broadcaster who has a net worth of $35 million. Gary Lineker holds the English record for most goals scored in FIFA World Cup finals play, with ten. His first club was his hometown Leicester City, where he played from 1978 to 1985, scoring 95 goals in 194 appearances. From 1985-86, Lineker was a member of Everton, scoring 30 goals in 41 matches. He moved to Barcelona in 1986, where he scored 42 goals in 103 appearances. Also in 1986, he won the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot.
In 1989, Gary joined Tottenham Hotspur, appearing in 105 games and scoring 67 goals. His final club was Nagoya Grampus Eight; he scored four goals in 18 appearances. Combining his club level and international play, he scored 330 goals in his 16-year career. After his playing days, he joined the BBC and hosted their flagship football program, "Match of the Day." In 2003, Lineker was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame. He has also written columns for "The Sunday Telegraph, and in 2013, he began working for the NBC Sports Network. Gary resigned from the BBC in May 2025 after sharing a social media post that inadvertently contained an antisemitic tone.
After he left school in 1977, Gary began his football career with Leicester City, going pro in the 1978–79 season. He scored 19 goals during the 1981–82 season, and during the 1984–85 season, he was tied for First Division's top scorer with 24 goals. Following that season, Lineker signed with Everton for £800,000 and went on to score 40 goals in the 1985–86 season. While playing for England's national team, he won the Golden Boot at the World Cup in 1986. Then, he signed with Barcelona for £2.8 million for the 1986-87 season and scored 20 goals that season. Barcelona won the 1988 Copa del Rey and the 1989 European Cup Winners' Cup final. Gary scored 42 in 103 La Liga appearances, making him the competition's highest-scoring British player untilGareth Balesurpassed his record in 2016. In July 1989, Lineker signed with Tottenham Hotspur for £1.1 million. He spent three seasons with the club, scoring 67 goals in 105 league games and winning the FA Cup. In November 1991, he signed a two-year contract with the J1 League club Nagoya Grampus Eight, which paid Tottenham Hotspur a £2 million transfer fee. In September 1994, Gary announced his retirement from football.
In 2017, it was revealed that the BBC paid Gary Lineker a salary of $3 million per year to host "Match of the Day." That salary actually made Gary the highest-paid person at the BBC.
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Gary Lineker was born Gary Winston Lineker on November 30, 1960, in Leicester, England. He is the son of Barry and Margaret Lineker, and he has a younger brother named Wayne, with whom he played football during his youth. His parents chose his middle name in honor of former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill, who had the same birthday as Lineker. Gary's father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all worked as greengrocers, and Barry ran a fruit and vegetable stall at Leicester Market. As a child, Lineker often helped out at his father's stall. Gary, who is white, has said he received racist abuse because of his "darkish skin." Lineker attended Caldecote Road School and the City of Leicester Boys' Grammar School, and he was talented at both rugby and football. He was the captain of the Leicestershire Schools cricket team from the ages of 11 to 16, and he played for the Aylestone Park Youth football club, eventually becoming the president of the club. Gary had four O levels when he left school, and one of his teachers stated on his report card that he "concentrates too much on football" and would "never make a living at that." In 1976, Lineker enrolled at Leicester City's youth academy.
Ultimately, Gary Lineker's financial journey is a testament to their success.
Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.