Gary Lineker's podcast empire recorded a staggering £1.4million profit last year as its shows continue to rise in popularity, its latest published accounts have revealed.
Lineker, the presenter of Match of the Day and the BBC's highest-paid employee, founded Goalhanger Podcasts in 2019 and the company rapidly established itself as one of the world's leading podcast producers.
Its series of podcasts including The Rest Is Football, The Rest Is Politics and The Rest Is History regularly tops the charts, raking in millions of listeners.
Assets jumped over the last 12 months with accounts filed at Companies House showing its retained earnings rose from £590,000 in 2023 to £2.03m last year, a £1.4m rise. Cash in the bank also rose from £560,000 to £2.7m.
Lineker himself presents The Rest Is Football, a popular show covering the sport's biggest talking points, alongside BBC colleagues Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.
The 64-year-old created the podcast company with former ITV controller Tony Pastor and former BBC executive Jack Davenport, and holds significant control of the firm.
According to the business, its 13 key shows have amassed more than 400m audio downloads and over 85m views on YouTube across 2024.
During Euro 2024, Lineker's podcast was downloaded 19.6m times.
Goalhanger's latest accounts also show that the number of employees on its books has increased from seven to 16 over the last financial year.
The Rest Is Politics, hosted by unlikely duo Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart, launched in March 2022 and garners millions of listeners.
Meanwhile, The Rest Is History, presented by Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland, has been similarly popular since it began in 2020.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire said, via The Times: 'These figures are spectacular. Gary Lineker's eye for a smart business opportunity is as keen as when he was playing football for England and scoring goals.
'This raft of podcasts run by Goalhanger are now among the most popular in the country and all the parties involved have benefited significantly as a result of that.'
A Goalhanger spokesman said: 'We're pleased with the continued growth of Goalhanger and the success of our shows, and we look forward to seeing our network continue to expand.'
Lineker earned over £1.35m from the BBC last year but will step down from his role as the host of Match of the Day in May, bringing an end to a 25-year stint.
He will continue to work for the broadcasting giant, however, and will host the channel's coverage of the 2026 World Cup and the FA Cup next season.
'It felt like the right time,' Lineker said. 'It came at a point really where the BBC and Match of the Day, they've got the rights for another three years, the cycle starts from next season. So it felt like if I just do one more year, it would be a bit weird.
'So I think to get a different presenter in place, I think would be probably wise on not just for me, but certainly for the BBC as well. But I really wanted to finish on a major tournament, do the FA Cup as well. So you've not quite got rid of me just yet.'
He added: 'I bowed out my football career when I felt it was the right time and I feel this is now the right time. I think the next contract, they're looking to do Match of the Day slightly differently. So I think it makes sense for someone else to take the helm.'
It was revealed earlier this week that Lineker has defected to rivals ITV.
He was the first name confirmed for new show The Assembly and will be questioned by a group of people who are autistic, neurodivergent and/or learning disabled.
Each episode will see a different celebrity forced to cast aside everything they were ever taught by their media trainers as they each face their most 'honest interview'.
Other celebrities such as David Tennant, 53, Danny Dyer, 47, and Jade Thirlwall, 32, have also been confirmed.
