Former England striker Gary Lineker joins LaLigaTV talent line-up after leaving BT Sport

Huge coup for LaLigaTV as they snap up Gary Lineker on a multi-year deal to present Spanish football… just months after he quit his Champions League presenter role at BT Sport

  • Gary Lineker has signed a multi-year deal to be part of LaLiga TV’s coverage
  • He will present key fixtures and feature regularly in their studio programme
  • Lineker resigned as BT Sport’s Champions League presenter earlier this summer 

Former England captain and Barcelona striker Gary Lineker has signed a multi-year deal to present Spanish football on LaLigaTV from 2021-22 season and beyond.

Lineker, who has fronted the BBC‘s football coverage for more than two decades, stepped down as BT Sport’s presenter for the Champions League after six years in the role at the end of last season.

He revealed at the time that he rejected a new deal with BT, saying he wants to spend more time with his family, including plans to go follow boyhood club Leicester City around Europe after they qualified for the Europa League once again. 

Gary Lineker has signed a multi-year deal to present Spanish football on LaLigaTV

He will now join the talent line-up on LaLigaTV, the 24/7 channel which will feature all live matches from Spain’s top flight from next season.

The 60-year-old will present key fixtures and feature regularly on the channel’s VIVA LaLiga studio programme, broadcast live from Barcelona, amongst other LaLiga-related promotional activities. 

‘I’m thrilled to become a part of LaLigaTV, a channel I’ve watched every weekend for the last two seasons’ said Lineker, who featured for FC Barcelona from 1986 to 1989, scoring 42 goals in 103 league appearances. 

‘I have fond memories of my time playing in Spain and very much look forward to sharing the excitement of LaLiga with viewers in the UK and elsewhere.’

Lineker resigned as BT Sport's Champions League presenter earlier this summer

Lineker resigned as BT Sport’s Champions League presenter earlier this summer

His addition to the LaLigaTV talent roster, alongside Spanish-football experts Guillem Balagué, Graham Hunter, Albert Ferrer, Terry Gibson, Sid Lowe, Gaizka Mendieta, Sportsmail’s Pete Jenson, and many others, bolsters the on-air talent pool for the linear TV channel, launched in the UK and Ireland in January 2020 as part of LaLiga’s partnership with Premier Sports. LaLigaTV is also available in the United Kingdom via Amazon Prime Video. 

Lineker has been a Leicester fan since he was a child and came through the club’s academy in 1976 before making his debut on New Year’s Day 1979. He went on to score 95 goals in 194 games for the Foxes before moving to Everton in 1985.

The striker also played for Barcelona, Tottenham and Japanese side Nagoya Grampus while he also netted 48 goals in 80 games for England before retiring.

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