Lineker secures £14m Netflix deal to host Rest is Football podcast at World Cup

Gary Lineker has landed a reported £14 million Netflix deal to bring The Rest is Football podcast to New York for the 2026 World Cup, with episodes already available to the platform’s 325 million paying subscribers worldwide.

Lineker, 65, will be joined by Alan Shearer and Micah Richards for a 40-episode run recorded from a New York City apartment, with Netflix promising viewers a “daily fix of banter, analysis and hot takes”. Episodes will drop at 6am each morning in the UK, with special guests including Frank Lampard, Patrick Vieira and Harry Maguire expected to feature throughout the tournament.

The deal adds another substantial sum to Lineker’s already considerable wealth. The Leicester-born presenter spent 25 years fronting Match of the Day and was consistently the BBC’s highest-paid presenter, earning more than £1.35 million annually before leaving the broadcaster in May. His net worth is widely estimated at around £30 million.

Much of that fortune has been amplified by the rapid growth of Goalhanger, the media production company Lineker co-founded with Tony Pastor and Jack Davenport in 2018. The Sunday Times has identified Goalhanger as the fastest-growing company in Britain, with turnover rising at an average annual rate of 321% over the past three years.

The firm, which employs just 80 staff, generated £37.9 million in revenue last year and surpassed 250,000 paid subscribers for the first time in January. Goalhanger’s portfolio extends well beyond football, encompassing The Rest is History with Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland, The Rest is Entertainment with Richard Osman and Marina Hyde, and The Rest is Politics with Alistair Campbell and Rory Stewart. According to Companies House, Lineker holds a stake of at least 25% in the business.