Arsenal legend Ian Wright has opened up on ‘getting older’ and the real reason why he has quit the iconic England striker’s role as a pundit with the BBC’s Match of the Day.
The 60-year-old joined Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer on MOTD for the last time on the final day of the 2023/24 Premier League season. Wright had worked as a pundit on the BBC show for 27 years after first going on it back in 1997. But he bid his emotional goodbye on Sunday.
Wright first appeared on Match of the Day’s panel while he was still a player. But he became a regular part of its line-up in 2002 and enjoyed 22 years as a key pundit analysing highlights from the English top-flight. Wright even went to the 2002 and 2006 World Cups for the BBC.
Ian Wright admits it was ‘time’ to leave Match of the Day
But Wright has now left his role on Match of the Day and will not feature in its 2024/25 line-up. The Arsenal legend says he has decided to step down as it was ‘time’ for a break, having committed a lot of time to his role which no longer has priority over his personal life today.
“It’s time,” Wright has told Stick to Football. “I had a dear friend who said that sometimes you’ve got to know when to step back, change, rest, have a break and say, ‘No, it’s just time’.
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“The way I am now because I have to get back to London, it’s like 03:30 am in the morning. It’s a long day. I leave at 8 am in the morning and get back at midnight.
“Especially when you’re on Match of the Day, you’re live and I’ve had a massive problem before with people knowing where you are. So, I always want to get back home to the misses and the girls.
“It just takes me two to three days after that to get ready, and there are other things I’m doing which I just haven’t got the energy for sometimes.
“I’m getting older, I just want to make sure I use the time well and efficiently for myself and at the moment, Match of the Day is the one that if something had to go, it had to be that.”
Ian Wright will join ITV Sport as a pundit at Euro 2024
Wright will continue to act as a pundit for ITV Sport after leaving his role on the BBC’s Match of the Day. The Arsenal great also appeared on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football in March. He joined Sky’s broadcast of Chelsea’s 3-2 Premier League victory over Newcastle United.
Sky sought to add Wright to its line-up after he announced the 2023/24 season would be his last as a Match of the Day pundit in December. But he is unlikely to become a regular on Sky during 2024/25 to spend time with his daughters and wife after over two decades on MOTD.
He will not fade from TV screens just yet, though. Wright will join ITV for its coverage of this summer’s Euro 2024 in Germany. ITV has also signed Roy Keane, Gary Neville, Karen Carney, Joe Cole, Eni Aluko, Jill Scott and Joleon Lescott as pundits for the European Championship.