Gary Lineker had surprise run-in with Princess Diana during time at Barcelona

Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has revealed the time he spotted Princess Diana at a concert during his time in Spain with Barcelona

Gary Lineker has revealed how he once bumped into Princess Diana (sort of) during his time at Barcelona.

Lineker spent three seasons at Barcelona during the 1980s, scoring 52 goals in 138 appearances. He helped the Catalan giants to win both the European Cup Winners’ Cup and the Copa del Rey before cutting short his time in the city to join Tottenham.

The 63-year-old Match of the Day host thoroughly enjoyed his time at the 27-time La Liga champions, although he didn’t always get on with his outside activities. “In Barcelona I had quite a lot of opera,” Lineker told the Rest Is Football podcast.

I can’t say I really liked opera, but my wife then, Michelle, was a massive opera fan, and she still is a massive opera buff. She goes to them all of the time, and we got very friendly with one of the great opera singers called Monserrat Caballe.”

During another social engagement in the city, he bumped into the late Princess Diana. He continued: “I remember we also went to a concert and sat right behind Princess Diana, actually.”

That prompted some high-pitched noises from podcast colleagues Micah Richards and Alan Shearer, who were clearly impressed by Lineker’s namedrop. He added: “It’s beautiful, Barcelona, with museums and art galleries and stuff.”

Lineker received good news this week after it was confirmed that Match of the Day would remain on the BBC until the end of the 2029 season. Lineker has hosted the show since 1999.