61 Facts About Gary Lineker

Gary Winston Lineker is an English former professional footballer and current sports broadcaster.

Gary Lineker is regarded as one of the greatest English strikers.

Gary Lineker is the BBC's lead presenter for live football matches, including its coverage of international tournaments.

Gary Lineker has previously worked for Al Jazeera Sports, Eredivisie Live, NBC Sports Network, and BT Sport's coverage of the UEFA Champions League.

Gary Lineker then moved to league champions Everton where he won both the PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year awards in his debut season, before moving to Spanish giants Barcelona.

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Gary Lineker joined Tottenham Hotspur in 1989, and won his second FWA Footballer of the Year and won the FA Cup, his first and only major trophy in English football.

Gary Lineker made his England debut in 1984, earning 80 caps and scoring 48 goals over an eight-year international career.

Gary Lineker is England's fourth-highest scorer, behind Wayne Rooney, Bobby Charlton and Harry Kane, and his international goals-to-games ratio remains one of the best for the country.

Gary Lineker was again integral to England's progress to the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup, scoring another four goals.

Gary Lineker still holds England's record for goals in the FIFA World Cup.

Gary Lineker is the only player to have been the top scorer in England with three clubs: Leicester City, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur.

Gary Lineker was given his middle name in honour of Winston Churchill, with whom he shares a birthday.

Gary Lineker grew up with his family in the city, playing football with Wayne.

Gary Lineker, who is white, received racial abuse as a child for his dark features.

Gary Lineker first attended Caldecote Road School, Braunstone in Leicester .

Gary Lineker later stated on They Think It's All Over that as a teenager he idolised former England captain David Gower, who was playing for Leicestershire at the time.

Gary Lineker then joined the youth academy at Leicester City in 1976.

Gary Lineker was again the First Division's leading goal scorer, this time with 30 goals, and helped Everton finish second in the league.

Gary Lineker has consistently stated since retiring from football that this Everton team was the best club side he ever played in.

Gary Lineker made his Barcelona debut against Racing Santander, scoring twice.

Gary Lineker played in Barcelona's shock home and away defeats to Dundee United.

In November 1991, Gary Lineker accepted an offer of a two-year contract from J1 League club Nagoya Grampus Eight.

Gary Lineker first played for the full England team against Scotland in 1984.

Gary Lineker played five games in the 1986 World Cup and was top scorer of the tournament with six goals, winning the Golden Boot, making him the first English player to have done so.

Gary Lineker scored the second quickest hat-trick ever at a FIFA World Cup tournament against Poland, the second English player to score a hat-trick at a World Cup, and scored two goals against Paraguay in the second round.

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Gary Lineker played most of the tournament wearing a lightweight cast on his forearm.

Gary Lineker scored for England in the World Cup quarter-final against Argentina, but the game ended in defeat as Diego Maradona scored twice for the opposition .

In 1988, Gary Lineker played in Euro 88, but failed to score as England lost all three Group games.

Gary Lineker was unwell during the tournament, and accidentally defecated in his shorts during the opening group game against the Republic of Ireland.

Gary Lineker retired from international football with eighty caps and forty-eight goals, one fewer goal than Sir Bobby Charlton's England record .

Gary Lineker had earlier missed a penalty that would have brought him level, in a pre-tournament friendly against Brazil.

Gary Lineker was visibly upset at the decision, not looking at Taylor as he took the bench.

Gary Lineker scored four goals in an England match on two occasions and is one of very few players never to have been given a yellow card or a red card in any type of game.

Gary Lineker participated in Prince Edward's charity television special The Grand Knockout Tournament in 1987.

Gary Lineker presented a six-part TV series for the BBC in 1998 called Golden Boots, with other football celebrities.

In 2002, Gary Lineker had a cameo appearance in the film Bend It Like Beckham.

In 2005, Gary Lineker was sued for defamation by Australian footballer Harry Kewell over comments Gary Lineker had made writing in his column in The Sunday Telegraph about Kewell's transfer from Leeds United to Liverpool.

In 2006, Gary Lineker took on an acting role as the voice of Underground Ernie on the BBC's children's channel, CBeebies.

In May 2010, Gary Lineker resigned from his role as columnist for The Mail on Sunday in protest over the sting operation against Lord Triesman that reportedly jeopardised England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

Gary Lineker then began working as an anchor for the English language football coverage for Al Jazeera Sport, which is broadcast throughout most of the Middle East.

In 2013, Gary Lineker began working for NBCSN as part of their Premier League coverage, and contributing to the US version of Match of the Day.

On 9 June 2015, Gary Lineker was unveiled as the lead presenter of BT Sport's Champions League coverage.

Gary Lineker was the highest-paid BBC employee, receiving payments of £1.

Gary Lineker's pay has been criticised by Julian Knight, chair of the parliamentary Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, and Dame Esther Rantzen.

The BBC's Director General, Tim Davie, stated that Gary Lineker's pay was justified "because of the value of analysis to the viewing audience".

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In 2021, Gary Lineker makes a number of cameo appearances playing himself in the American football comedy TV series Ted Lasso.

Gary Lineker has appeared in television commercials for the Leicester-based snack company Walkers.

In May 2014, Gary Lineker established his own production company Goalhanger Films Ltd.

In November 1991, George, Gary Lineker's eldest son, survived a rare form of leukaemia whilst he was a baby, and was treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

Gary Lineker has been involved with the Fight for Life and Cancer Research UK charities.

Gary Lineker was made a freeman of the City of Leicester in 1995 and he has been referred to as "Leicester's favourite son".

Gary Lineker stated that he would invest a six-figure sum and that other members of his consortium would invest a similar amount.

Gary Lineker met with fans' groups to persuade them to try and raise money to rescue his former club.

Gary Lineker married Danielle Bux on 2 September 2009, in Ravello, Italy.

In November 2017, Gary Lineker was named in the Paradise Papers in connection with a tax avoidance scheme relating to property owned in Barbados and a company set up in the British Virgin Islands.

Gary Lineker speaks Spanish, which he learnt during his time playing for FC Barcelona, and is an advocate for the teaching of foreign languages in schools.

Gary Lineker has been noted for his political views which he shares on Twitter.

Gary Lineker endorsed a remain vote in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.

Gary Lineker is a freelance presenter whose BBC appearances do not concern politics, so he is exempt from the corporation's rules regarding impartiality on social media.

Gary Lineker almost equalled the England goalscoring record, held at the time by Bobby Charlton, in a pre-tournament friendly against Brazil, but he missed a penalty kick, leaving him one goal short of Charlton's total, which was overtaken by Wayne Rooney in 2015.

Gary Lineker is a Visiting Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, appointed 2020.