Gary Lineker’s new podcast sounds a lot like the one he already has

Have you listened to Gary Lineker’s new podcast, The Rest is Football? It’s the one where he gets together with fellow BBC pundits Micah Richards and Alan Shearer to share their stories and opinions on what’s happening in the world of football. It’s totally different from Lineker’s podcast that already exists, Match of the Day: Top Ten, where he gets together with Micah Richards and Alan Shearer to share their stories and opinions on the “top tens” in the world of football.

Both podcasts are produced by Goalhanger, Lineker’s production company which also produces hit series The Rest is History and The Rest is Politics. Goalhanger pointed out that the key difference is MOTD Top 10 is “evergreen/historic”, while TRIF intends “to cover the ins and outs of the football season”. Right. Lineker also said last week there was an appeal to being free from those pesky BBC rules: “We can do what we want, when we want, how we want, say what we want, swear if we really want.” Also, MOTD Top 10 is only available to listen to on the BBC Sounds app, while The Rest is Football is available on all platforms, creating huge potential, Goalhanger says, for “wider consumption”. And it’s not as if the plug is being pulled on Top 10 – the BBC has commissioned (paid) Goalhanger to make another 30 episodes of it. Apparently there was no objection whatsoever to TRIF going ahead from the BBC, where Lineker will continue to work as its highest-paid presenter – funded by the licence payers. Congrats, Gary, the beers are on us.

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