Lineker says BBC contract talks have just started

Match of the Day host Gary Lineker has said his negotiations with the BBC over a new contract have "just started", following speculation about his future.

Last week, the MailOnline reported it had seen an unverified email purportedly from BBC bosses preparing to announce the 63-year-old's departure after 25 years.

On the latest episode of his podcast The Rest is Football, posted on Monday, Lineker said: "I'm coming to the end of my contract in the summer, so it's natural at some point that you have to have conversations, and they've just started."

He said he didn't know why the speculation had "spiralled out of control, but all is OK", and that "there are bigger problems in the world".

The former England striker made light of the situation at the start of Saturday's edition of Match of the Day.

"Hello, seven games on the way and it's my final show," he told viewers, before pausing and adding: "Before the international break."

The Premier League will take a break this weekend for the latest round of international fixtures.

Lineker joked about his future again on The Rest is Football with co-hosts Alan Shearer and Micah Richard.

Shearer told him: "Me and Micah have been worried about you the last few days. Can you tell us anything about your contract?

"It's like you, [Mo] Salah, [Virgil] Van Dijk and Trent [Alexander-Arnold] are all coming to the end of your contract. What's going on? Inform us, please."

Lineker replied: "I think there is one significant difference - Liverpool fans really care about those three."

He added that it had been "a strange few days", and that his co-stars are "in a similar predicament".

"So perhaps you'll have the Daily Mail on your doorstep tomorrow now that they know that."

When Richards remarked that he had been given odds of 4-1 to take over, Lineker replied: "Four to one? Blimey. I'd love to see you take over. I think you'd be brilliant in the chair."

"No, I wouldn't!" Richards laughed.

Shearer jokingly told the former Manchester City defender: "That is a massive concern. I'm not signing my new contract if you're the presenter, by the way."

Lineker has hosted Match of the Day since 1999 and is the BBC's highest-paid star, of those whose salaries are declared, earning more than £1.3m a year.

However, the former footballer has also been involved in controversy at the corporation because of his social media activity.

He was briefly suspended by BBC bosses last year after an outcry over a post about the UK's asylum policy.

Responding to the speculation about his future on Thursday, a BBC spokesperson said: "We have nothing to announce, and we have not agreed next steps with regard to his contract.

"He is under contract until the end of the season."