The age of Gary Lineker’s Match of the Day predecessor when he stepped away from presenting football has left fans gobsmacked.
TV icon Des Lynam was the face of the BBC show for over a decade before he switched to ITV to present their Champions League coverage back in 1999. He even made a comeback to Premier League highlights when ITV snatched the rights for a brief stint in the noughties.
Now 81, Lynam last graced our screens during a major tournament at Euro 2004, clocking out at 61, a whole two years junior to Lineker’s current age of 63. With his suave looks and trademark moustache, Lynam seemed older than the evergreen Lineker, sparking a wave of surprise on X (formerly Twitter) after Sky Sports’ Jamie Weir shared images of both.
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Weir posted: “When he signed off from his last major tournament as an anchor, Des Lynam was two years younger than Gary Lineker is now. That slightly blows my mind.”
He went on to praise both stars, saying: “They’re both excellent broadcasters. Make something extraordinarily difficult look effortless.”
Meanwhile, one fan quipped: “It seems that eating crisps keeps you looking young.” Another chimed in: “It’s weird, I think Des’ generation look way older at that age than now. We wear trainers.”
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(Image: ITV)
When he left the BBC, Lynam cited the need for a “new challenge”. He had also been unhappy with the BBC’s late-night scheduling, which saw Match of the Day creeping towards an 11pm kick-off. He said: “The moment you put it past 10.30pm, I start fuming.”
But ahead of Euro 2024, he opened up about the real reason. He told the Irish Independent: “I was very happy to do Match of the Day, and would have gone on doing it.
“Only ITV came to me with a bucket-load of money! I couldn’t turn it down, it would have been stupid. It was a hell of a lot more than the BBC were paying, for a lot less work.
“At the time, obviously, I didn’t say I was leaving for the money, I just said I wanted a new challenge – and that new challenge was to bank some more money!”