Elon Musk Is Clearly a Unique Individual

Gary Lineker has worn many hats over the years, transitioning from a World Cup Golden Boot winner to a popular television host and a prominent podcast mogul. He’s faced both praise and criticism, being labeled “woke” by some, while reshaping the media landscape through his company, Goalhanger.

“If I get called a podcast mogul, I take that as a compliment,” Lineker notes. “I have a company, Goalhanger, that has become almost dominant in the UK podcasting world. Did I ever envision our company becoming as successful as it is? Of course not.”

Interestingly, many listeners of Lineker’s array of podcasts might be unaware of his involvement. The name Goalhanger is a nod to his football career from four decades ago. “We were making sports documentaries for television,” Lineker reveals. “We were doing fine and then started looking at podcasts a bit. We had never branched outside sports.”

His foray into podcasting began with a history podcast, “The Rest Is History.” It became wildly successful, prompting further ventures like “The Rest Is Politics” and “The Rest Is Football.” The latter, featuring Lineker with his TV colleagues Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, became the most listened-to sports podcast on both Spotify and iTunes in the UK, according to Chartable.

This prolific output has been so influential that Michael Spicer, a comedian, joked, “I’m doing a podcast called ‘The Rest is the Rest,’ where I talk about every subject not covered by all The Rest podcasts.”

Lineker’s influence extends beyond traditional media, having adapted well to newer platforms. However, his relationship with social media has become more cautious. After his suspension from “Match Of The Day” for criticizing the government’s asylum policy, he has avoided sharing his thoughts on platforms like Twitter, now called X.

“I have changed my habits on Twitter,” Lineker explains. “I don’t really post my thoughts now because I think it has become not a very pleasurable experience. There was a time you could have chats with people and a bit of banter, but now it’s impossible. Everyone’s got a blue tick, so it doesn’t work anymore. It is a very unpleasant world there, and Musk is clearly a very odd bloke.”

Lineker has often been advised to “stick to football,” but he now has multiple platforms to express his views. He and Shearer criticized England’s performance in a 0-0 draw with Denmark on both television and their podcast. Despite using stronger language on the podcast, it appears the England players had no issue with their opinions.

“I think there was a bit of stirring the pot by one or two newspapers, the Daily Mail in particular,” Lineker reflects. “The players understand that as long as you are fair and not personal, criticism is part of football. It was good for publicity and great for our podcast.”

Lineker’s reach extends far beyond just old-school football fans. “I remember interviewing Ange Postecoglou and he told me he always listens and loves the podcast,” he shares. His audience largely consists of listeners under 30, providing a profitable and influential platform beyond traditional media engagements.

“Our audience is skewed under 30 on average, which is great, because that is the audience everyone looks for,” he says. This younger listenership adds another layer of audience reach, complementing his existing role on the BBC.

Lineker seems open to extending his time on “Match Of The Day.” “Match Of The Day is such an iconic show. I’ve presented it for 25 out of 60 years. Podcast-wise, things have exceeded our expectations, but I love being part of Match Of The Day and working for the BBC. Despite its troubles, it’s brilliant,” he concludes.

Listen to ‘ The Rest Is Football ‘ wherever you get your podcasts