Gary Lineker scored more than 200 goals in English football during a fine career – and he also earned popularity during three seasons in Catalonia.
Lineker is stepping down as presenter of Match of the Day after 26 years at the end of this season, and gave an exclusive interview for the latest issue of FourFourTwo magazine.
As part of a wide-ranging chat, he discussed his three-act career as a footballer, presenter and now podcast guru, via his Goalhanger company.
Gary Lineker’s move to Barcelona
Lineker began his playing career with Leicester City, netting more than 100 goals for his boyhood club before making the move to Everton in 1985.
Arriving when the Toffees were champions of England, they were pipped to the title by city rivals Liverpool by just two points in his first season at Goodison Park.
Unexpectedly, it would prove to be his only campaign with the club – that summer, Lineker would earn global fame after winning the golden boot at the 1986 World Cup.
The striker found the net on six occasions at the tournament, scoring a hat-trick in England’s final group game against Poland to ensure their progress to the knockout stage, after taking just one point from their opening two matches against Portugal and Morocco.
He followed that with a brace in the last 16 against Paraguay, before another goal in the quarter-final defeat to Argentina.
After that tournament, Barcelona came calling, putting in a £2.8m bid to take Lineker to Catalonia.
It wasn’t easy to leave Everton after only one season, but he admits he didn’t regret it – Lineker enjoyed his time at the Camp Nou, scoring 52 goals in three seasons, including a hat-trick against Real Madrid.
“I was glad I went there,” he told FFT. “It sounds like an obvious decision to say yes, but Everton were very good at the time.
“I was happy at Everton, but the club said they’d accepted a bid. It shouldn’t have been a hard decision, but it was.
“When I went to Barcelona, though, it was a madhouse but it was wonderful. It’s huge. We were playing in front of 120,000 fans.”
