BBC‘s director of sport has shared an email with employees after the announcement of Gary Lineker‘s exit.
It read: “You will have seen in the past few minutes that Gary Lineker will be leaving the BBC at the end of the current football season…
“I appreciate the last week has been difficult and emotional for many of you. Thank you for all the messages and conversations, even if some of them weren’t easy to have. And I hope you understand that I had to wait until now to tell you the news.
“It is sad to be saying goodbye to such a brilliant broadcaster and I also want to thank Gary for his years of service. As ever, if you have questions, you know where I am.
“Let’s finish the season strongly with Gary’s final show, enjoy an incredible summer of sport and look forward with excitement to what lies ahead.”