Gary Lineker, 59, says his eyesight is now so bad he struggles to read his notes on Match of the Day – forcing him to wear his glasses more and writing with bigger letters
- Gary Lineker has been presenting Match of the Day since the late 1990s
- But the ex-England striker claims his eyesight is now getting worse when on air
- Lineker reveals he struggles to read his notes and even can’t see other pundits
- The 59-year-old also fronts BT Sport’s live coverage of the Champions League
Gary Lineker has revealed his eyesight is getting worse – and is affecting his performances on Match of the Day.
The presenter, who also fronts BT Sport’s coverage of the Champions League, wears varifocal glasses in order to see his notes and fellow pundits while on air.
But the 59-year-old, who earned a salary of over £1.75million-a-year from the BBC before accepting a pay-cut, announced that he needs to use his lenses more and more during the shows and even needs to write in bigger letters in order to read his work.
Gary Lineker admits his eyesight is getting worse which is affecting his live presenting skills
Lineker (right) claims he struggles to read notes and sometimes even see fellow pundits
Lineker said: ‘At first, I put them (the glasses) on just to read if there was a breaking news story or something like that.
‘And then it came to the point that, however big I wrote my notes, I can’t see them anymore.
‘Every time I glanced down, I couldn’t read them. And I just thought “Well, I’ll put the glasses on.”‘.
Lineker (above) wears special varifocal lenses on air and claims he wears them more often now
Lineker has been the Match of the Day for around 20 years, having taken over from Des Lynam in the late 1990s.
He also presented several of the BBC’s live golf shows for tournaments such as The Masters and the Open.
The former England striker has had to quit playing recreational golf though because of arthritis in his fingers.
Lineker has been Match of the Day presenter (above) for the BBC since the late 1990s
Lineker also revealed he is getting rather ditsy when it comes to his glasses, and he has even thought about keeping his spectacles on permanently while on air.
He told talkSPORT’s Hawksbee and Jacob’s Daily Podcast: ‘If I just kept my reading glasses on, then the guys (the other pundits) would all be blurred.
‘The other day I was looking for my glasses everywhere and, after about five minutes, I realised I was wearing them!’
Lineker was the highest-paid BBC staff member after his bumper salary was revealed by the broadcasting company last year. However, the former footballer has since accepted a reduced salary amid a gender pay-gap row.