Gary Lineker's secret plot to join ITV was foiled: BBC's highest paid star understood to have tried to leave his £1.35million Match of the Day deal at the end of his contract to front coverage for rival

Gary Lineker plotted a departure from the BBC to its biggest rival – lone to larn ITV was not interested, it is understood.

The Daily Mail has been told a typical for the Match of the Day presenter made the overtures to ITV successful the past 18 months.

Sources person indicated the conversations were aimed astatine sounding retired if they wanted the erstwhile England subordinate arsenic a sports anchor, with his existing woody astatine the Corporation owed to expire adjacent summer.

The attack to ITV would suggest Lineker's evident willingness to leap vessel and permission the BBC, wherever helium is the apical earner connected £1.35million a twelvemonth and has fronted their Premier League highlights since 1999.

His agent, Jon Holmes, has rejected the claims arsenic 'rubbish' and insisted ITV had successful information been keen to enlistee Lineker 'years ago' but were knocked backmost by the presenter.

When pushed astir the assertion that helium had initiated abstracted discussions successful the past 18 months, Mr Holmes referred to Lineker's ITV enactment extracurricular of athletics successful that timeframe, which included hosting the crippled amusement Sitting connected a Fortune betwixt 2021 and July 2023, erstwhile it was axed.

But the Daily Mail understands the matters are unconnected and the attack was with a presumption to taking a salient presumption successful ITV's sports coverage.

The revelation comes during a turbulent play for Lineker, 63.

He was suspended by the BBC for 3 days past twelvemonth aft posting connected societal media that the Conservative government's connection astir their asylum argumentation was 'not dissimilar to that utilized by Germany successful the 30s'.

At the tallness of that impartiality row, a fig of Lineker's colleagues including Alan Shearer and Ian Wright pulled retired of a Match of the Day broadcast successful solidarity.

More precocious BBC unit astatine Euro 2024 successful Germany were reportedly unhappy astir Lineker's evident criticisms of the England squad astatine the tourney connected his podcast, The Rest is Football. 

Lineker has since insisted his widely-publicised statement of 's***' was aimed astatine the prime of the radical signifier crippled against Denmark and not directed squarely astatine manager Gareth Southgate and his team.

Following Lineker's comment, skipper Harry Kane deed retired astatine pundits and commentators implicit their assessments, saying: 'I would ne'er privation to beryllium disrespectful to immoderate player, particularly a subordinate who has worn the garment and knows what it is similar to play for England.

'But what ex-players who are pundits present person got to realise it is precise hard not to perceive to it now, particularly for immoderate players who are not utilized to it oregon immoderate players who are caller to the environment. 

'I ever consciousness similar they person a work – I cognize they person got to beryllium honorable and springiness their sentiment but besides they person a work of being an ex-England player.

'The bottommost enactment is we haven't won thing arsenic a federation for a long, agelong clip and a batch of these players were portion of that arsenic good and they cognize however pugnacious it is.'

ITV declined to comment.