Gary Lineker reveals he was offered a spot on ITV's Celebrity Big Brother

Former football star Gary Lineker, best known for hosting Match of the Day for the past 25 years, is set to part ways with the BBC at the end of this season. Now exploring new opportunities, Lineker shared on the The Rest Is Football podcast that he was approached to join ITV's reality show Celebrity Big Brother.

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Lineker admitted the discussions didn’t progress far, as he humorously demanded an eye-watering salary of £50 million through his agent.

"He did it completely as a joke, obviously. And they came back said, "Oh, that's a little bit...that's not within our budget,'" Lineker recounted.

It seems Lineker wasn’t genuinely interested in ITV's offer. He also recently declined an invitation to host the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards show, set to air next week.

As Lineker prepares to bid farewell to Match of the Day, no permanent replacement has been announced yet. Leading contenders for the role include Mark Chapman and Kelly Cates.