Top 147 Quotes & Sayings by Gary Lineker

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an English footballer Gary Lineker.
Last updated on October 15, 2024.
Gary Lineker

Gary Winston Lineker is an English former professional footballer and current sports broadcaster. He is regarded as one of the greatest English strikers. His media career began with the BBC, where he has presented the flagship football programme Match of the Day since the late 1990s, the longest tenure of any MOTD presenter. Lineker is also the BBC's lead presenter for live football matches, including its coverage of international tournaments. He has also previously worked for Al Jazeera Sports, Eredivisie Live, NBC Sports Network, and BT Sport's coverage of the UEFA Champions League.

I'm disappearing from twitter for a while. Need a break from the bile. Local prejudice just seems to bring out the worst in some people.
I've got about 5 million followers on Twitter, and if I tweet anything, there will be faux outrage.
I watched Leicester City lose in the 1969 FA Cup final with my dad and granddad when I was eight and cried all the way home. I have seen them get promoted and relegated. I played for them for eight years. I even got a group of like-minded fans and friends to stump up a few quid to salvage the club when they went into liquidation.
We are in the entertainment business and we all know if you are top of the tree you get the big money. Those of us who have been in it are the fortunate ones but we understand that we probably don't deserve it as much as the nurses or teachers.
In terms of the pricing of football tickets, there's no need - given the massive amount of money that's coming in now from television rights, there's no need for them to be greedy. Look after the supporters; make sure they can still afford to go and watch football.
I'm not that moody. I don't have big ups and downs. — © Gary Lineker
I'm not that moody. I don't have big ups and downs.
My eldest son George had acute myeloid leukaemia when he was a tiny baby, he is now 20 and doing very well. He is a mini-miracle in many ways.
Playing football and presenting TV are totally different things, but there are similarities: it's exciting, it can go well, it can go badly... the difference is when presenting goes badly, it doesn't really affect anyone's life, whereas when you have a bad day on the pitch, it affects people's moods for a whole week.
It's only a matter of time before the English clubs become a lot more competitive in Europe, if not dominant, because our league is, by far, the richest league in the world.
I don't feel that I'm particularly political. I'm interested in politics; I'll express my view if I feel strongly about something, but humanitarian issues, I think, are slightly different.
That's one of the magical things about the Olympics, Team GB will have someone challenging in a sport that we've never watched and all of a sudden it'll be the biggest thing ever.
It would be more weird if people didn't stare at me or shout at me.
My fiancee's brother-in-law was recently paralysed in an accident and it really brought home the fact that thousands of young people live with spinal injuries. It's an issue I wish had more coverage.
Being called Gary. It's a crap name. I wish I'd been called by my middle name, Winston.
In terms of politics, I just look at people's policies, and sometimes I agree with something, sometimes I won't.
It's true: a lot of sportspeople really struggle to find something to do when they finish. It tips them into all sorts of strange things. With ex-footballers, it's really scary. I think 70% of them get divorced within five years. It's hard. You go from being really famous to not that famous. Your salary drops through the floor.
I was quite good at football once, although other than that my speciality would be maths. I'm great at sudokus and find all the spin-off games pretty easy too. — © Gary Lineker
I was quite good at football once, although other than that my speciality would be maths. I'm great at sudokus and find all the spin-off games pretty easy too.
I just think to be a manager you've got to live and breathe and have this incredible enthusiasm for football, the whole thing. And while I love the game, and it's been a large part of my life, it's not the only thing in my life.
The way children are taught football doesn't encourage skill; the focus is on other areas.
The Leicester story is great for the game in England. It's great for the appreciation of the Premier League.
The whole kiss-and-tell thing is a negative approach that often happens in a World Cup. We will see negative stories about the players and it can affect their confidence and the overall performance of the national team on the pitch, let alone the bid to actually stage the competition.
I think people come and go, 'I'm going to find the real Gary. What is it... the real Gary? I've got to find it.' But the thing is, it's pretty much what you see is what you get. I'm just like this. There's no hidden viciousness.
I wouldn't want to go out six nights a week and watch somebody's reserves playing to check out a footballer to see if we're going to buy him.
Most of my best games were when I felt crap - I could hardly move on the morning of the World Cup semi-final in 1990 - but there's a thing called adrenaline that gets you through.
If somebody in the crowd spits at you, you've got to swallow it.
I am not leaving twitter. If the mindless few defeat the thoughtful majority we are all doomed.
The train's always full of football fans going up to see matches. Oh, they make sure I hear their points of view all right. They all want to have their say about their team, and make their opinions known.
Fundamentally, footballers don't look around a dressing room and think, 'He's a black player... he's Japanese.' They don't think like that. They think, 'He's a good player; he can help. He's not very good.' I'm not trying to defend anyone's actions, but there are going to be isolated incidents because it's an emotive, passionate sport.
I know I could never be in a pop band. I honestly have an appalling voice.
People have no idea how hard football is, absolutely no idea. It's all about pace. You can say, 'Yeah, you've got speed of thought' - but you've got to have a little bit of a zip.
I've known Mark Hughes for half a lifetime. We joined Barcelona in the same summer of 1986, played together under Terry Venables and Luis Aragones, and have kept in touch ever since.
The World Cup is every four years, so it's going to be a perennial problem.
You've got no chance of reaching the top if you're just playing for money.
Ooh, it's too embarrassing to share my innermost romantic secrets - although I have written Danielle the odd poem. If anything they are more comedic than romantic. They used to be well-received but that was before she started studying Shakespeare at drama college. Now I feel so inept.
The truth is I don't feel too bad for my age. I actually have a better shape now than I used to.
Twitter has been a godsend for travelling.
When you're winning games, everyone thinks everything the manager says and does is fantastic. Then it goes the other way, and those earlier criticisms of players can backfire.
My wife Danielle and I love travelling, different cultures and good weather.
People make mistakes. They say stupid things.
I've only got a Saturday job so my weekdays are generally pretty free.
Ferrari or Lamborghini. Never fancied one of those - too flash for me. I don't really like seeking too much attention. — © Gary Lineker
Ferrari or Lamborghini. Never fancied one of those - too flash for me. I don't really like seeking too much attention.
I think I'm expected to behave in a certain manner.
Our games are not always the best, but they are exciting, which is what people love to see.
The best, most successful managers in the modern era are those who can keep a player happy even if he is not in the team. Given the size of the squads and the use of rotation nowadays, that's tougher than it's ever been.
I can't understand why someone wouldn't have a degree of sympathy for people that had to flee their country, travel to try and find their home somewhere, and nobody wants them. How could you not be a little bit sympathetic?
Basically, Walkers are putting real produce into their flavours, so the cheese and onion flavour is actually cheese and onion rather than just flavourings.
We have got too many kids around the house to have a romantic meal at home. But Danielle is a fantastic cook. She does a brilliant lasagne, great roasts and a great chilli dish. She knows the way to my heart.
I was only interested in scoring goals. I wasn't interested in anything else.
I've heard things said on football pitches that players clearly don't mean, whether it's racism or just an abusive comment in the heat of the moment.
In any other corporation, if there was so many things that were found to be corrupt, then the man at the top would go - but that doesn't seem to be the case with FIFA.
I think if I'd ever had any skeletons in the closet, they'd have been out a long time ago.
I try to avoid saying 'fantastic' too often and 'obviously' is a dangerous word for all broadcasters. — © Gary Lineker
I try to avoid saying 'fantastic' too often and 'obviously' is a dangerous word for all broadcasters.
I know I am extraordinarily lucky to be doing what I am doing. I have worked hard along the way and I have been blessed too. I have had a great life.
When I see old photos of me on the beach I don't look too bad... but it's hard trying to breathe in for such a long time when I spot the photographers!
I'm more of a 5 Live man. But I might listen to a bit of Coldplay or The Smiths.
Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.
This is ludicrous. Seven- and eight-year-olds valiantly trying to cover the same acreage as those grown-up chaps in the Premier League is absurd. To add to the lunacy, a little goalkeeper, barely out of nappies, has to stand between posts that are eight strides apart - adult strides - and under a crossbar more than twice his height.
I try very hard to be bad, but people never take me seriously.
People are possibly not spelling 'Leicester' correctly everywhere round the globe, but they are at least saying it correctly now.
I've had hundreds of requests from journalists all over the world asking me to speak about Leicester, which is astonishing. It's captured the imagination.
This site uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience. More info...
Got it!