Gary Lineker playing for Leicester City, 1984
After an impressive 1984/85 campaign, Lineker earned a move to defending champions Everton for £800,000. In his first season with the Toffees, Lineker scored 40 goals in just 57 games. For the second season running he was top goalscorer in the First Division, with 30 of his 40 goals coming in the league, including three hat-tricks.
Lineker would spend just the one season on Merseyside as Everton were narrowly pipped to both the title and FA Cup by Liverpool. After winning the Golden Boot at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, he was signed by Barcelona for £2.8million.
Once manager Johan Cruyff had moved Lineker to right midfield, he decided it was time to move on. In July 1989, after some interest from Manchester United, Lineker decided to sign for Tottenham Hotspur for £1.1million.
However, Lineker was instrumental in his side reaching the showpiece game, scoring a brace in the semi-final win over North London rivals Arsenal.
The final season before the Premier League was introduced was the last that Lineker played in English football. He finished second top goalscorer behind Ian Wright in the 1991/92 campaign. His last goal in English football came in a 3-1 defeat to Manchester United on the last day of the season.
Lineker's final stint as a professional footballer came in Japan, where he played for Nagoya Grampus Eight. The transfer fee paid to Tottenham Hotspur was £2million. He scored just nine times in 23 appearances over an injury-affected two seasons in Japan.
Gary Lineker, Japan
In the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, Lineker scored six times, becoming the first Englishman to win the Golden Boot at a World Cup finals. He scored the second quickest hat-trick at a World Cup against Poland and was the first English player to score a hat-trick since Geoff Hurst in the 1966 World Cup final.
He scored twice against Paraguay and once in the infamous quarter-final match against Argentina - the game with Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" and "Goal of the Century".
Gary Lineker, 1986 World Cup
He retired from international football after Euro '92 after tallying 80 caps and 48 goals, one fewer than Sir Bobby Charlton. In the current list of England top goalscorers, he sits third behind Wayne Rooney and Charlton.
After Leicester City famously won the 2015/16 Premier League title, Lineker presented the first episode of the subsequent season's Match of the Day wearing just his boxer shorts. Believing that Leicester City wouldn't win the Premier League, in December 2015 he promised in a tweet that he would "present Match of the Day in just my undies" and he was true to his word.
On September 2, 2009, Linker married Danielle Bux. They subsequently won £30,000 for charity on ITV's Mr and Mrs game show. Just six years later, the pair divorced due to Lineker wanting no more children.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lineker announced he was donating £140,000 to the British Red Cross to fund greater research into the virus.
According to an article published in the Leicester Mercury, Lineker is worth £30million and annually makes £1.75million working for the BBC. He is the highest earning BBC presenter, but recently agreed to take a 23% pay cut.
His role as the face of Walkers crisps has been very profitable for Lineker as he currently earns £1.5million a year.
The arrangement with BT Sport earned Lineker around £3million a year until he left the post in 2021.
Leyton Orient defender and new Professional Footballers’ Association chairman Omar Beckles is determined to ensure everyone's opinion and complaints are heard during his tenure.
Talks between the BBC and Gary Lineker are “moving in the right direction” after the broadcaster’s sports coverage suffered disruption throughout the weekend, the corporation has reported.
The BBC has been urged to get a “grip” of the impartiality row over Gary Lineker as its sports coverage faced disruption for a second consecutive day.
Gary Lineker will step back from presenting Match Of The Day until he and the BBC have an “agreed and clear position on his use of social media”. Planet Sport looks at who could step in to the role.
Gary Lineker paid tribute to the "incredible achievement" of Harry Kane equalling Jimmy Greaves' all-time goals record for Tottenham as the England captain was on target to secure a 1-0 win at Fulham.
Gary Lineker has revealed the loud moaning noises heard during the BBC's live FA Cup coverage between Wolves and Liverpool were caused by a hidden mobile phone "taped to the back of the set".
Gary Lineker predicted Arsenal will win the Premier League this season after they moved eight points clear at the top of the table with a 2-0 derby win at Tottenham.
