Gary Lineker has shared a fascinating behind-the-scenes story about his attempt to bring Emma Hayes to Leicester City following their Premier League relegation in 2023.
The former Match of the Day presenter made the revelation during an appearance on The Rest is Football Netflix show, where Hayes joined him as a guest.
It turns out Lineker contacted the club directly to pitch the idea of appointing the highly-regarded coach to take charge at the King Power Stadium.
Hayes, who was managing Chelsea’s women’s side at the time, is now in charge of the United States Women’s National Team and working as an ITV pundit during the World Cup.
Gary Lineker pitched the idea of Emma Hayes as the new Leicester manager when they were relegated to the Championship
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RESTISFOOTBALLLineker revealed he reached out to Susan Whelan, who was Leicester’s chief executive at the time, to make his case for Hayes.
“I called her to say, ‘I think you should go for Emma [Hayes] as the Leicester City coach,'” he explained on the show.
Whelan’s response was telling. She told Lineker: “I think it’s a really good idea, but I’m not quite sure the owners are ready to make that step yet.”
The club ultimately went with Enzo Maresca instead, who replaced Dean Smith in the dugout.
Whelan has since departed Leicester, which Lineker described as “one of the many mistakes Leicester have made.”
Emma Hayes has recently appeared as a pundit on ITV
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ITVLineker was clear about his motivations for suggesting Hayes, insisting it wasn’t simply a publicity exercise.
“I think she’s a brilliant coach, so it’s not like it’s some kind of PR stunt,” he said, though he acknowledged the appointment would have been groundbreaking.
He pointed out that Hayes could have become the first female manager of a professional men’s team in England, which he felt would have been “brilliant” from a public relations perspective.
The former England striker also believed Leicester had the right squad for Hayes to succeed with, adding: “I think we had the players that you’d have done really well with.”
Hayes responded graciously to Lineker’s revelation but was keen to shift the focus away from herself.
Leicester City have since been relegated again after another shocking season
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GETTY“I appreciate you saying that, but I say this – managers get asked this question, we’re the ones who have to sit through that in a press conference, and I always say – ‘You’re asking the wrong person’,” she said.
“You have to ask those who own football clubs why they don’t do those things.”
She acknowledged the limited number of female coaches at elite level but noted her experience working with men, revealing that half of her 65-strong staff are male.
“I recognise it could be a challenge in England, but I’m very, very happy in the women’s game,” Hayes added.