Gary Lineker plotted a departure from the BBC to its biggest rival – only to learn ITV was not interested, it is understood.
The Daily Mail has been told a representative for the Match of the Day presenter made the overtures to ITV in the past 18 months.
Sources have indicated the conversations were aimed at sounding out if they wanted the former England player as a sports anchor, with his existing deal at the Corporation due to expire next summer.
The approach to ITV would suggest Lineker’s apparent willingness to jump ship and leave the BBC, where he is the top earner on £1.35million a year and has fronted their Premier League highlights since 1999.
His agent, Jon Holmes, has rejected the claims as ‘rubbish’ and insisted ITV had in fact been keen to recruit Lineker ‘years ago’ but were knocked back by the presenter.
When pushed about the claim that he had initiated separate discussions in the past 18 months, Mr Holmes referred to Lineker’s ITV work outside of sport in that timeframe, which included hosting the game show Sitting on a Fortune between 2021 and July 2023, when it was axed.
But the Daily Mail understands the matters are unconnected and the approach was with a view to taking a prominent position in ITV’s sports coverage.
The revelation comes during a turbulent period for Lineker, 63.
He was suspended by the BBC for three days last year after posting on social media that the Conservative government’s language around their asylum policy was ‘not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s’.
At the height of that impartiality row, a number of Lineker’s colleagues including Alan Shearer and Ian Wright pulled out of a Match of the Day broadcast in solidarity.
More recently BBC staff at Euro 2024 in Germany were reportedly unhappy about Lineker’s apparent criticisms of the England team at the tournament on his podcast, The Rest is Football.
Lineker has since insisted his widely-publicised description of ‘s***’ was aimed at the quality of the group stage game against Denmark and not directed squarely at manager Gareth Southgate and his team.
Following Lineker’s comment, captain Harry Kane hit out at pundits and commentators over their assessments, saying: ‘I would never want to be disrespectful to any player, especially a player who has worn the shirt and knows what it is like to play for England.
‘But what ex-players who are pundits now have got to realise it is very hard not to listen to it now, especially for some players who are not used to it or some players who are new to the environment.
‘I always feel like they have a responsibility – I know they have got to be honest and give their opinion but also they have a responsibility of being an ex-England player.
‘The bottom line is we haven’t won anything as a nation for a long, long time and a lot of these players were part of that as well and they know how tough it is.’
ITV declined to comment.