Gary Lineker

Biography: A former English footballer, who played as a striker. He is a sports broadcaster for the BBC, Al Jazeera Sports and Eredivisie Live. He remains England?s top scorer in the FIFA World Cup finals, with 10 goals.

Lineker began his football career at Leicester City and became known as a prolific goalscorer; despite failing to score in his first ten games, he finished as the First Division?s joint top goal scorer in 1984-85 and earning his first England cap. He moved to Everton where he remained a clinical finisher, scoring 38 goals in 52 games. His first team honours came at Barcelona, where he won the Copa del Rey in 1988 and the European Cup Winners? Cup in 1989. He returned to England in 1989, joining Tottenham Hotspur, and over three seasons he scored 67 goals in 105 games and won the FA Cup. Lineker?s final club was Nagoya Grampus Eight and he retired in 1994 after two seasons at the Japanese side.

Lineker made his England debut in 1984 and over the following eight years earned 80 caps and scored 48 goals, finishing as England?s all-time second highest scorer behind Bobby Charlton. His international goals-to-games ratio remains one of the best for the country and he is regarded as one of the all-time best English strikers. He was top scorer in the 1986 World Cup and received the Golden Boot, the only time an Englishman has achieved this feat. He is also the only player to have won the English golden boot with 3 different clubs (Leicester City, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur). Lineker is noted for never having been cautioned or sent off by a referee during his professional career.

After his retirement from football he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame. He moved in to broadcasting, working at the BBC, firstly working as a pundit on Match of the Day before he went on to present the flagship show. Lineker also worked on other programmes at the BBC. He led a consortium that invested in his old club Leicester, saving it from bankruptcy, and was appointed honorary vice-president. Since 1994, Lineker has featured in several television commercials for Walkers Crisps. He has four sons with his ex-wife Michelle and is now married to model Danielle Lineker.

Despite his long career, Lineker was never cautioned by a referee for foul play (never once receiving a yellow or red card). As a result of this accomplishment he was honoured in 1990 with the FIFA Fair Play Award.

In a senior career which spanned 16 years and 567 competitive games, Lineker scored a total of 282 goals at club level. Added to the 48 goals he scored in internationals, he managed a total of 330 first class goals.

Gary Winston Lineker was born in Leicester to Margaret P. (born Walsham, Norfolk) and Barry Lineker (both born 1939). Gary has one younger brother, Wayne Lineker who is two years younger than he is. Lineker?s father, Barry, was a Greengrocer in Leicester and he grew up with his family in the city, playing football with his brother Wayne. Lineker first attended Caldecote primary school, Braunstone and then went to the City of Leicester Boys? School (later The City of Leicester School) on Downing Drive in Evington. He joined Leicester City football club in 1977.

Lineker is a freeman of the City of Leicester (which entitles him to graze his sheep - should he have any - on Town Hall Square) and he is often referred to as "Leicester?s favourite son". As a youngster, he famously worked on his family?s stall in Leicester Market. Lineker still helped out on the stall at the height of his playing career during the late 1980s and early 1990s, though usually only in the closed season. His links with cricket were renewed when he was invited to become Honorary President of Kent-based wandering cricket club, Paraguayan Elbows CC. The club, which was founded in 1986, was named in his honour after an incident in that summer?s World Cup match between England and Paraguay.

Lineker married Michelle Cockayne in 1986, but they divorced in August 2006. They announced their split in April 2006 but stated that the situation was amicable. They have four sons, George, Harry, Tobias, and Angus. His oldest son George survived a rare form of leukaemia as a baby in the early 1990s; Lineker now supports children?s cancer charity CLIC Sargent and has since appeared in adverts encouraging people to give blood as a result. Lineker has been actively involved with other cancer charities such as Leukaemia Busters, where between 1994 and 2005 Gary and Michelle were the charity?s patrons. He has also been involved with Fight for Life and Cancer Research UK.

In October 2002, Lineker announced a �5 million rescue plan for cash-strapped club Leicester City, describing his involvement as charity rather than an ego trip. He said that he would invest a six-figure sum and other members of his consortium would invest a similar amount. Lineker met the fans? group to persuade them to try and raise money to rescue his former club. Another six-figure sum donor was Emile Heskey, who had not only followed in Lineker?s footsteps by going to the same school as him, but also went on to play for Leicester City and England. Lineker is now honorary vice-president of Leicester City, along with Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton.

Lineker married Danielle Bux on 2 September 2009, in Italy. The ceremony was attended by friends and family. They went on to win �30,000 for charity in ITV?s gameshow Mr. and Mrs