Gary Lineker’s Net Worth
He is the face of Match of the Day and is third on England’s list of record goal scorers but how does that translate into riches? Here we look at Gary Lineker’s net worth.
So, what is Gary Lineker’s net worth?
Right, let’s get straight to it, as of the time of writing, Lineker boasts a net worth of £27 million. Given he retired from football back in 1994 he never benefited from the obscene wages of today’s players. He’s since done alright for himself through other channels though.
Early life
Lineker’s life nowadays is a far cry from what he grew up with. The family, which consisted of Gary, his parents Barry and Margaret and brother Wayne, were not on the breadline though. His father was a second generation greengrocer who traded fresh produce on a market stall.
Lineker was happy to graft on the market as a kid but his aspirations were always on a sporting future. Alongside his obvious talent in football, he was also the captain of Leicestershire County Schools cricket side for several years. After juggling the two sports, Lineker eventually opted for football. He joined the Leicester City youth set up at 16-years-old in 1976.
Two years later Lineker penned a pro deal with his hometown side. By 1980, he had his first piece of silverware in the shape of a Second Division title; the then 19-year-old scored three goals in 19 league appearances.
Kicking on
After the highs of promotion, Lineker found himself struggling for game time scoring two in just nine appearances. Leicester were relegated. The silver lining came in that next season as Lineker got regular minutes and started to find the back of the net with ease. 17 league goals in 39 games was followed in 1982/83 by 26 in 40 as the Foxes climbed back into the top tier of English football. Two more years of goal filled football – this time at the highest level – saw him wave goodbye to his beloved Leicester.
Lineker joined Everton, the Champions, for £800k but despite hitting 40 goals across all competitions, the season finished with only a Charity Shield to show for his efforts. That 1985/86 season was the second consecutive year of Lineker topping the scoring charts and the rich vein of form continued into the summer as England travelled to Mexico for the World Cup. We all know how it ended. Diego Maradona prevented the players joining the 1966 squad as finalists. Anyway, on a personal level, Lineker won the Golden Boot.
The goals kept raining
After the solitary year on Merseyside, Lineker joined Barcelona for a fee in the region of £3m. It’s fair to say that his exploits prior to arriving in Spain had whipped up a frenzy around his arrival and a hat-trick in El Classico – in addition to a further 18 goals – in his debut season kept the fan base more than happy. Lineker’s pockets were happily getting lined with goal bonuses too.
All in all, he scored 52 goals in 137 games in Spain. The La Liga title evaded his grasp though as Barca made do with Copa Del Rey and Cup Winners Cup trophies during his three year stay. He returned to England with Tottenham; the deal cost in the region of £1.1m with Barca boss Johan Cruyff not seeing him as part of what proved to be a special team with the likes of Hristo Stoichkov eventually providing the firepower.
His salary at Spurs is unknown but given he was approaching his latter years – he was 29 – and bringing a big profile the best estimates put it close to a £50k per annum basic. Like we say, nowhere near today’s wages but probably double what he earned at Everton. Despite his advancing age, Lineker still had it. He won an FA Cup and notched 80 goals in a three year spell in North London; his final year the most productive as he scored 28; just one shy of matching Ian Wright for the top scorer award.
Lineker ended his playing career with a lucrative move to Japan. He joined Nagoya Grampus Eight on a free in the summer of 1992; it’s believed he earned around £2.8m per year but after niggling injuries and failing to adjust to the language barrier he called it a day. He’d managed only two seasons and just eight goals.
More than a footballer
Lineker’s first move off the pitch was one back in his hometown, which happens to be where Walkers are based. The former Foxes man penned a six figure deal with the crisp giant in the mid-nineties and has remained the face of their advertising campaigns through to the current day. The endorsement is now believed to be worth over £1m per year.
Around a similar time came his first steps into the world of media. Initially he featured on the radio but that quickly developed into a television role. Lineker’s funny side and ability to laugh at himself saw him become a captain on ‘They think it’s all over’ alongside his pundit work on Match of the Day. After the occasional appearance as a presenter in short series, a long term opportunity presented itself in the shape of Grandstand.
It wasn’t just as a television personality and host where Lineker was pulling in the money though. He also held several small cameo acting roles with the biggest coming in ‘Bend it like Beckham’. The film that was titled in honour of David Beckham went on to gross over $100m at the box office.
The face of football
After serving his apprenticeship in other roles Lineker eventually took over the hot seat on MOTD. He currently presents that show with regular pundits including the likes of Alan Shearer and Jermaine Jenas. His role – or more to the point his salary – has been under the spotlight in recent years though with it emerging that his £1.75m salary made him the highest paid TV presenter in the BBC. He has since taken a voluntary drop of £400k.
It’s not only on the flagship BBC show where Lineker earns his corn through football presenting though. He also hosted the Champions League action on subscription channel BT Sport up until the end of the 2020/21 season; moving forwards a new host will be installed with Lineker opting to follow his beloved Leicester on their Europa League tour with his children. His BT salary has remained firmly under wraps.
The latest developments in Lineker’s career have seen him announce his partnership with LaLiga TV; Lineker and the British based Spanish football service announced the deal in July 2021. The former Barca attacker is going to be conducting his usual presenting gig across a ‘multi-year deal’. How frequently he’ll feature and how much he’s getting paid are details that are not yet known.
What else is there to know?
It’s quite clear that Lineker shares a passion for sport and media; the fact he has his own production company drives that message home further. Goalhanger Films was founded in 2014 and whilst it is far from a Hollywood label it has still been responsible for sporting documentaries featuring huge names such as Maradona, Wayne Rooney and boxing star Anthony Joshua.
The only other thing of note regarding Lineker is his activity with charity. He’s pumped a lot of money into leukaemia charities, which are close to his heart due to his son suffering from the disease as a child but he also goes beyond that to actively promote several charities operating in and around the field. He even spent 11 years as patron for Leukaemia Busters.
There you have it; a look at Gary Lineker’s net worth and whilst £27m is a tidy whack, it’s fair to say he’s worked pretty hard for it given where he started out.