Gary Lineker Quick Info | |
---|---|
Height | 5 ft 10 in |
Weight | 74 kg |
Date of Birth | November 30, 1960 |
Zodiac Sign | Sagittarius |
Eye Color | Light Brown |
Gary Lineker is an English former professional soccer player and a sports broadcaster who, during his playing days, was renowned for his clinical finishing abilities as a potent striker for England at the international level and teams like Leicester City, Everton, Barcelona, and Tottenham Hotspur at the club level. As of February 2020, he held the English goalscoring record (10 goals) at the FIFA World Cup Finals and was the 3rd highest international goalscorer in English history, behind Bobby Charlton and Wayne Rooney. After retiring from the sport in 1994, he presented the BBC’s flagship football program called Match of the Day for more than 2 decades. Gary has also been inducted in the ‘English Football Hall of Fame’.
Born Name
Gary Winston Lineker
Nick Name
Goldenballs, Junior Des, Leicester’s Favourite Son
Sun Sign
Sagittarius
Born Place
Leicester, Leicestershire County, England, United Kingdom
Residence
Barnes, Richmond upon Thames, London, England, United Kingdom
Nationality
Education
Gary attended Caldecote Road School in Leicester and then went to the City of Leicester Boys’ Grammar School (now City of Leicester College) because he preferred soccer over rugby and most schools near his home used to play rugby as their primary sport. He completed his schooling with 4 O-Levels.
Occupation
Professional Soccer Player (Retired), Sports Broadcaster
Family
- Father – Barry Lineker (Greengrocer)
- Mother – Margaret Abbs
- Siblings – Wayne Lineker (Younger Brother) (Entrepreneur)
- Others – William Harold Lineker (Paternal Grandfather) (Greengrocer), George Albert Lineker (Paternal Great Grandfather) (Greengrocer), Emily Holmes (Paternal Great Grandmother), Henry William Lineker (Paternal Great Great Grandfather), Lavinia Hatfield (Paternal Great Great Grandmother), Alice Kate Hoare (Paternal Grandmother), Frederick Charles Hoare (Paternal Great Grandfather), Sarah Elizabeth Thorne (Paternal Great Grandmother), John Hoare (Paternal Great Great Grandfather), Kate Rose Billingham (Paternal Great Great Grandmother), John Thorne (Paternal Great Great Grandfather), Alice Pratt (Paternal Great Great Grandmother), Stanley Phoenix Abbs (Maternal Grandfather), Charles William Abbs (Maternal Great Grandfather), Louisa Ann Phoenix Stone (Maternal Great Grandmother), James William Thurtle Abbs (Maternal Great Great Grandfather), Elizabeth Abbs (Maternal Great Great Grandmother), Muriel Elizabeth Eggleton (Maternal Grandmother), Knights Sydney Eggleton (Maternal Great Grandfather), Alice Annie Lewis (Maternal Great Grandmother), James Eggleton (Maternal Great Great Grandfather), Sarah Ann Oliver (Maternal Great Great Grandmother), Annie Lewis (Maternal Great Great Grandmother). He also has 3 nephews and a niece.
Manager
He is represented by –
- Sharron Elkabas, Booking Agent, MN2S Talent Agency, London, England, United Kingdom
- Prime Performers Speakers Agency, London, England, United Kingdom
- The Edge Entertainment Consultants, Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom
- Champions Celebrity Talent Agency, Loughborough, Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom
Shirt Number
- 10 – England
- 7, 8, 9, 10 – Leicester City
- 7, 8, 10 – Barcelona
- 10 – Tottenham Hotspur
- 10 – Nagoya Grampus Eight
Playing Position
Striker
Build
Athletic
Height
5 ft 10 in or 178 cm
Weight
74 kg or 163 lbs
Girlfriend / Spouse
Gary has dated –
- Michelle Cockayne (1986–2006) – Gary got married to Michelle Cockayne in 1986 and they have 4 sons together – George Lineker (b. 1992), Harry Lineker (b. 1994), Tobias Lineker (b. 1996), and Angus Lineker (b. 1998). After 2 decades of marriage, the couple got divorced in May 2006.
- Danielle Bux (2007-2016) – 3 years after his divorce with Michelle, he got married to Welsh model and actress Danielle Bux, who is 19 years his junior, on 2 September 2009, in Ravello, Italy. They had dated for almost a year after getting together in September 2007. The couple got divorced in 2016.
Race / Ethnicity
White
He is of English descent.
Hair Color
Salt and Pepper
Eye Color
Light Brown
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
- Affable smile
- Sports a trimmed beard and mustache
- Short-cropped, spiked hair
- Toned physique
Brand Endorsements
Gary has served as the ambassador for brands like –
- Walkers
- George Cleverley (Footwear Brand)
- Hand & Lock (Apparel Brand)
- Sunspel (Apparel Brand)
He has appeared in numerous TV commercials for British snack food manufacturer Walkers.
Gary Lineker Favorite Things
- Soccer Clubs – Leicester City, Everton
- Sports – Soccer, Cricket, Golf
- Cricketer – David Gower
Source – Wikipedia
Gary Lineker Facts
- His middle name was given after Winston Churchill, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom with whom Gary also shares his birthday.
- He was interested in both soccer and cricket as a youngster. Before joining youth soccer academies, he used to captain the Leicestershire Schools cricket team (from the age of 11 to 16) because he felt that he had a better chance of succeeding at cricket.
- Gary was the ‘Golden Boot’ winner as the top scorer (6 goals) in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. He was the only Englishman to achieve the feat until Harry Kane repeated the effort at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
- His hat-trick against Poland in the 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 2nd-fastest hat-trick ever at a FIFA World Cup. The feat also made him only the 2nd English player to score a World Cup hat-trick.
- During his stint with Barcelona at the La Liga, he scored 42 goals in 103 games and was the highest-scoring British player in the Spanish premier division until Gareth Bale surpassed him in March 2016.
- During his long and illustrious career, he remarkably never received either a yellow or a red card for which he was honored with the ‘FIFA Fair Play Award’ in 1990.
- The phrase ‘When Lineker scored’ features in the English national soccer team’s anthem titled Three Lions. It refers to his equalizing goal in the 1990 World Cup semi-final game against West Germany which England eventually lost in a penalty shoot-out.
- He scored 4 goals in an international match for England twice in his career.
- On August 13, 2016, Gary presented the first episode of the Match of the Day program for the 2016–17 season wearing boxer shorts and nothing else. He had promised in a tweet that he would do so if Leicester City, his first professional soccer club, could win the Premier League title and he kept his word.
- In the late 1990s, Leicester-based snack company Walkers temporarily renamed their salt and vinegar crisps as Salt & Lineker in Gary’s honor.
- Gary was given the ‘Freedom of the City’ honor by the City of Leicester in 1995.
Featured Image by Gary Lineker / Instagram