One brother is the squeaky-clean BBC megastar who is one of England’s all-time greatest goalscorers and the other is a partying playboy who runs Ibiza’s famous Ocean Beach club. Gary and Wayne Lineker could not be more different. 

The estranged siblings, who were born less than two years apart, were once best of friends until their relationship catastrophically broke down and left them ‘worlds apart’.

While Gary made a name for himself as a pundit following his retirement, Wayne became notorious for his relationships with much younger women and his outrageous online comments as he tried to build a business empire abroad.

And as Gary, 63, prepares to front the BBC’s coverage for Euros 2024 in Germany, it’s the other Lineker who is making the headlines again this week. 

Wayne, 62, was knocked unconscious by a yob during a 4am brawl outside a nightclub in Ibiza amid a row over a woman in her 20s yesterday morning. He revealed he was left with ‘a few stitches and a swollen lip’ after reportedly being out cold for six minutes with blood pouring from his mouth.

The party animal moved to Ibiza to launch Ocean Beach in 2012 – and it was the Spanish island where cracks first started to appear in his relationship with his football legend brother.

The brothers’ 16-year feud dates back to 2008, when former England and Barcelona striker Gary started seeing Danielle Bux and brought her on holiday to Ibiza.

Former England striker Gary and his wild brother Wayne (left) were once best of friends but now no longer speak despite the BBC presenter tweeting this picture in 2012, years after they grew apart

Wayne Lineker broke his silence after being knocked out in Ibiza. He posted this photo with a cut below his lip

Wayne (pictured top) is seen with his hands on Gary’s shoulders in a sweet photo from their childhood

‘In my opinion, Danielle cost me my relationship with my brother. Sadly Gary is no longer a part of my life,’ Wayne told The Sun in April 2015.

Wayne was left confused when their weekly phone conversations and home visits ended abruptly – but he blames it on an awkward first encounter with Danielle, who Gary married in 2009 but divorced in 2016.

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Gary Lineker’s brother Wayne, 62, reveals he was punched in the face – and shows off his swollen lip

‘They came to Ibiza in August 2008 and it was really awkward. I didn’t spark with Danielle and our relationship was cold,’ said Wayne. 

Wayne claimed that Danielle stayed in her room on the first day and they did not speak to one another during a night out the following night.

The influencer, who has 1million followers on Instagram, did not want to risk upsetting his brother by bringing the tension up with Gary – but Wayne never spoke to Danielle after the holiday. 

He was the best man at Gary’s first wedding to ex-wife Michelle Cockayne in 1986, but he was not even a guest at his brother’s second set of nuptials.

The club owner refused to attend because his brother told him that he couldn’t bring his then-girlfriend, Ana Tanaka, who he been with for 18 months. 

‘She was a lovely, polite girl, and not a five-minute girlfriend,’ argued Wayne. 

Gary Lineker is the BBC megastar who moved to punditry after a stellar football career

Wayne is a party animal with clubs in Ibiza. He is pictured here with England and Man City star Jack Grealish

Lineker was knocked out yesterday morning in Ibiza after a thug and his friends were pestering one of Lineker’s female friends 

Video footage shows the man hitting Wayne in the face and making contact with his chin 

The club owner is knocked unconscious for around five minutes as one woman came to help 

Wayne and Gary are pictured as children. Their feud first started in 2008

Wayne has claimed that he has tried to reconcile the relationship in the past, including on Gary’s 50th birthday but a phone call between the pair lasted last less than a minute.

The father-of-four admitted he had given up at the time, adding:  ‘I would love nothing more than him to call me up tomorrow and ask to go to lunch to speak about it, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.’

Wayne’s old friend and former PR man ‘Neil Deal’ previously told the Mail in 2015: ‘Gary had a bit of a problem with Wayne’s party lifestyle.

‘He and his brother used to get along well enough, but they were worlds apart. And as Gary became more famous in sport and TV, Wayne seemed to become more of a party animal to compensate, and they just grew apart.’

By August 2017, Wayne opened up about how the pair were on talking terms but were still ‘not how we were years ago’.

He told The Sunday Mirror: ‘We are slowly getting there. It’s important. He’s my brother. We were so close. We used to play golf twice a week, go to each other’s houses and speak every day on the phone.’ 

The rift is said to date back to 2008, when Gary started dating Danielle Bux (pictured together in 2015)

Wayne Lineker seen out an about in Manchester in February this year

He is pictured here with YouTube sensation KSI and former UFC champion Conor McGregor

But most recently, in March this year, Wayne admitted that the relationship is ‘not so good’ and that they rarely speak.

The nightclub owner insisted he felt no bitterness towards the Match of the Day host. 

But speaking about their relationship on the Mail’s comedy podcast Straight to the Comments!, he said: ‘It’s not so good to be honest, we don’t really speak very often. I’ll always be his number one fan.’

Wayne said he still has a good relationship with his nephews, however, revealing: ‘We’re so close. We’ve got a really strong relationship with George, Harry, Angus and Tobias. They call me Space Wayne – we had a big night out and I ended up being carried out.’

Wayne explained how the differences between them were obvious from a young age.

He explained: ‘I had all the skill in the world but I had no dedication, no commitments, I just wanted to be out with the lads…

‘Gary had every dedication there was, he was super dedicated, but we’re completely different siblings. He’s very straight and narrow, and I’m very naughty and high. So yeah, we’ve always been like that.’

While Gary’s face is beamed into millions of living rooms up and down the country on Match Of The Day, Wayne insisted he’s the one that rules the roost when it comes to social media. 

He revealed that when he’s hosting at his famous Ibiza beach club, O Beach he’s asked to take roughly 300 selfies a day for clubgoers to share online.

Wayne revealed: ‘2000 pictures a week. I’ve worked it out and I think I’m the most photographed person in the world.’

Gary won the 1986 World Cup Golden Boot award with 10 goals in Mexico

The same year, Wayne decided to carve out his own identity by moving to Tenerife, where he opened Lineker’s bar. (File image of a Lineker’s bar)

Asked if he’s more photographed than Gary, Wayne continued: ‘Absolutely, yes. He’s not keen on taking pictures but I’m in that environment, aren’t I?

‘You’ve not been to Ibiza unless you’ve had a pic with Wayne, that’s the truth. I said to my PA, I need a clicker! I want to count how many; it finishes at 446.’

In 1986, while Gary was busy winning the World Cup Golden Boot award with 10 goals in Mexico, Wayne decided to carve out his own identity by moving to Tenerife, where he opened Lineker’s bar.

His success allowed him to launch another venue in Marbella and later move to Ibiza where he would go on to open Ocean Beach.

He sparked controversy with his provocative posts, including his infamous ‘girlfriend advert’.

In 2020, he posted the list on social media – which included ‘giving up her career, having no children, being able to cook and loving R&B’. 

He also refused to consider a future girlfriend close to his age, insisting in his checklist that ‘it would just look weird,’ and he’d prefer someone around 28 or 29-years-old.

The list was posted to Wayne’s Instagram account with the hashtag ‘banter’ but sparked outrage on social media from followers disgusted with Wayne’s demands.

Back in 2021, furious fans falsely labelled Wayne a ‘paedophile’ after a prank in which he announced a fake engagement to Geordie Shore star Chloe Ferry.

The pair, who grew closer while appearing on Celebs Go Dating, shared a snap online which left fans angry.

Lineker has long been accused of having a penchant for younger women, with three of his much younger girlfriends eventually becoming his wives. 

Among them was Zoe Davey – their friendship began when he was 29 and she was a 15-year-old Essex schoolgirl.

‘This isn’t a Bill Wyman-Mandy Smith situation,’ Lineker insisted when tabloids asked him about their association, referring to the Rolling Stone’s infamous relationship with a 14-year-old.

‘Zoe is a virgin and she’ll stay that way until she is at least 16.’

They later married and had a daughter, now 16 herself, but the relationship broke down and Lineker moved on.

In stark contrast, Gary enjoyed a stellar football career with Leicester City, Everton, Barcelona, Tottenham and finished with a brief stint in Japan with Nagoya Grampus until he retired in 1994. 

He scored a formidable 80 goals in 48 caps for England – making him the fourth-highest goalscorer of all time.

After retiring, he moved into media and began presenting Match of the Day in the late 1990s. 

Unlike Wayne, Gary has never publicly spoken about his relationship with his brother.