Gary Lineker made a seven-word joke as he got his final episode as Match of the Day host up and running on Sunday evening. The 64-year-old is set to depart the BBC following a 25-year stint as presenter of the popular highlights show.

The BBC confirmed at the start of the week that Lineker would leave the corporation earlier than planned after he had apologised for sharing a social media post about Zionism. The post caused widespread offence as it featured a rat, a symbol that has historically been used as an antisemitic insult. The talented presenter had planned to stay with the Beeb for another year to present their FA Cup coverage next season and the 2026 World Cup.

The Match of the Day starting credits were changed at the start of Sunday’s show in honour of the former striker as footage of some of his goals were screened. He then welcomed viewers by solemnly exclaiming: “It wasn’t meant to end this way.”

However, his demeanour quickly changed as he added: “But with the title race over and the Champions League places confirmed, the Champions League was all we had left to talk about.”

He went on to introduce pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards before talking viewers through the Premier League table ahead of the final round of matches. The football action then got underway with Manchester City’s clash with Fulham at Craven Cottage.

The final Match of the Day of the season is typically action-packed as every Premier League match kicks off at the same time on the same day.

That meant there were 10 matches for Lineker and his BBC colleagues to get through during the 100-minute show.

The last day of the campaign proved to be an underwhelming affair for much of the afternoon, with only 12 goals scored being scored in the first 65 minutes of action.

Manchester City eventually secured third-place in the Premier League table courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Fulham, with Arsenal seeing off Southampton 2-1 to cement second place behind champions Liverpool, who drew 1-1 with Crystal Palace.

Chelsea overcame Nottingham Forest 1-0 at the City Ground to grab fourth, with Newcastle taking the final Champions League spot, despite losing 1-0 at home to Everton.

Lineker has been tipped to return to television in the future and has already been linked with the likes of ITV and Sky Sports.

But for now, he will keep himself busy with his podcast, The Rest is Football, which has attracted a huge following since launching in August 2023.

And he could even be a media disruptor as he has been in discussions with Dazn about screening Club World Cup highlights on The Rest is Football this summer.