Gary Lineker’s long-term future at Match of the Day is up in the air, while Jermaine Jenas won’t be replacing the 63-year-old following his recent sacking from the BBC.
But former Liverpool and Fulham star Danny Murphy has ruled himself out of the running to become the show’s main host, with the ex-footballer joking fans would miss his punditry too much.
Lineker’s contract with the BBC is due to expire next year. Though he loves his role on Match of the Day, it’s unclear what the future holds as his Rest in Football podcast continues to rake in the profits.
Jenas had, for a long time, been seen as Lineker’s natural replacement.
But the ex-Tottenham and Newcastle star won’t be the next host of the Match of the Day after the BBC ruthlessly sacked him last week.
Murphy has been a regular on Match of the Day over the years, ever since retiring from football in 2013.
Yet the 47-year-old has now ruled himself out of the running to replace Lineker.
Speaking on talkSPORT, when asked if the job would appeal to him, Murphy said: “I’ve not presented yet, I’ve never had the desire to present.
“No. The show would miss my content as a pundit.”
Simon Jordan, also speaking, believes Match of the Day remains a big show – despite football fans being able to consume content in different ways nowadays.
The former Crystal Palace chief also warned the BBC about going down the ‘woke’ route like Football Focus.
“I think it’s a good product. I don’t think there’s any evidence that it’s diminishing,” he said.
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“I don’t think there’s any evidence that an audience doesn’t want to watch it because it features at certain times. Whether you like individual commentators or pundits is irrelevant.
“If they want to destroy it, if they want to turn it into something that’s not very good, they’ve got a blueprint for it in [Football Focus].
“It’s drivel and it was a brilliant show that contained something everybody wanted to watch and now it’s all about who we think should be on the screen and why we think they should be there rather than meritocracy.
“I find no intrigue in it, I find no substance in it, I find it just a woke fest of nonsensical, uninformed opinions.
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“If [Match of the Day] take that pathway after Lineker decides that he’s no longer going to present it anymore and they don’t get the right people in place and change the format because they think they’re appealing to a certain audience then it will go the wrong way.”
Lineker, meanwhile, was coy on his Match of the Day future when quizzed earlier this week.
He did say, however, that he still enjoys working on the programme.
“Match Of The Day is such an iconic show, 60 years is such a long time and I have presented it for 25 of those years,” he said.
“Podcast-wise, things have really exceeded our expectations but, at the same time, I love being part of Match Of The Day.
“I love working for the BBC. I know it has its issues and it has its troubles but I think it’s brilliant.”
