I’m like I was as a player. I love Jurgen Klopp's personality, he's a star, his energy, it's fantastic. 'And then he did a long interview with Sir David Frost and I was watching it at home and Frost brought it up, the magazine interview. It’s tricky.‘We cut to this game, two teams you wouldn’t recognise, this fella scores and the picture you see, his face is pressed into the ground.‘So I’ve said, “And to celebrate — he’s eating grass!” Bit of laughter in the gallery, I thought it was just a little silliness.‘He’s praying, isn’t he? Much happier in the middle. 'And the lead is the son of a stallholder, he sells flowers, my dad was fruit. What City do — it's just so clever. And I got a sort of begrudging, Sir Alex-type apology. I can get grumpy.‘I can whinge with the best of them, but I never had that red mist, I was never abusive. The randoms.It can get a little lively. But fennel? 'I had no sympathy for wingers after that. Late on in Naples, 1990 (against Cameroon), he suddenly put me straight through.‘I said, “We’ve played together for two years, Gazza — you could do that all the time”. 'And the same people who tell me to stick to football whether it is a plumber, an electrician, a cricketer, (archly) a former England goalkeeper (Peter Shilton, Lineker's ex-team-mate, is a strong advocate of Brexit), they all have their views on everything. ‘But Winston? I can get grumpy. And this play, it struck home, with some of Brexit in there, too. ‘And it was going so well. It's a Muslim prayer. I'm not a socialist but I'm probably left of the centre.
Lots of early mornings, lots of standing out in all weathers, if you don’t work you don’t earn, so illness has to be shrugged off. 'And I was wrong, wasn't I?' I've had conversations about using words like "we" — I don't like it said about clubs, I don't like it said about England. Not left wing.
You'll see a different formation, a different way, every visit. It’s like you never meet a thick comedian. Straight-talking on social media, Gary Lineker is now very familiar with the trolls of TwitterDuring Brexit, Lineker was a more powerful voice for Remain than any of the political leadersThe Match Of The Day host gave a wide-ranging interview to Chief Sportswriter Martin SamuelLineker has been vocal with his opinions on social media and made clear he won't back downAbuse often ranges from his personal views to the Match Of The Day running order each weekThe son of a fruiterer in Leicester market, Lineker grew up to be one of the world's best strikersLineker began his career with boyhood club Leicester and went on to score 194 times for themFollowing the Foxes incredible title win, Lineker kept his promise to present in his underwearLineker's path crossed with Sir Alex Ferguson (left) at Sir Bobby Robson’s memorial in 2009Lineker says his concerned reaction for Paul Gascoigne was as much selfish as empatheticA fondness for Barcelona is still held, Lineker says he 'would have stayed there forever' I never asked Dad which way he voted in the Referendum because I didn't want to hear the answer. People say it comes up on their feed when they don't want it.
Small businessman. So I saw it and thought, “Oh no, f****** hell” — so I wrote to him. And certainly, Lineker’s upbringing does not lend itself to liberal politics.The Match Of The Day host gave a wide-ranging interview to Chief Sportswriter Martin SamuelHe is the son of Barry, a fruiterer in Leicester market. It’s not true, it’s not even close”. 'Barry gave his son the middle name Winston; and not because he was a big fan of dancehall reggae. (Significant deliberation.) Small businessman. And luvvie, left-wing Lineker was born, 7.5million followers and counting.He really didn’t set out to be a voice of that, or any other, generation and the feeling remains that they’ve got the wrong man.‘I’m not party political,’ he says. I get a lot of "we pay your wages" and I probably felt if it wasn't down to the taxpayer then I wouldn't have to deal with that any more. Bit of laughter in the gallery, I thought it was just a little silliness. He's grinning, 'I know, I know'. And I got a sort of begrudging, Sir Alex-type apology. And there was one point that really got me, and I was crying because he’s listening to a tape of his dad after he’s died and he says, “I love you” in it. I played for England for years, but I don't like the 'we' word, even if I feel it. Ah jus’ fell doon the stairs”. 'My dad was a proper Tory. My God, you can’t say that. 'It's quintessentially British and something we should be proud of — and there's not that many things left like that. You might have an issue about not letting everyone in because of jobs and I get that, but to have no empathy with people who are drowning?‘The whole world needs to come together and look after each other, and take their fair share because they’re human like us.‘And I would have done exactly the same if I’d had 350 followers or 7.5million.
After I said it, there was a lot of debate, so I looked into it and… I’ve seen sense.‘There isn’t another way to fund it really.
'And then they asked me about Sir Alex and I talked about him.
'But people would say to me about Gazza, "Oh, he's thick".
And I’m sitting there thinking, “What?
'And nor had I, until just before my dad died. And we live in the time of the pundit-fan, too, with television companies placing increasing pressure on their experts to show allegiance to a team. Everyone says it: a million stories about him, and they're all true. ‘On the occasions I’ve been tempted to look there I’ve always regretted it,’ he says. On Gary Lineker’s Twitter feed there are two notification columns.
These days, the most common questions are about Paul Gascoigne's tears at the 1990 World Cup [he says his concerned reaction was as much selfish as empathetic] and his favourite flavour of crisps [salt and vinegar, although home cooking is more his thing these days]. The last interview Lineker gave he was asked about the BBC licence fee and said, as he has always believed, that it should be voluntary.
'I'm not party political,' he says. 'What I said about refugees, there were some awful pieces comparing them to cockroaches and stuff, and I thought, 'Hang on, this is xenophobia. Gary's such a crap name —and Winston, what about the headlines? 'You're always one sentence from disaster.