Behind Closed Doors, Gary Lineker
Behind Closed Doors, Gary Lineker
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Behind Closed Doors
Life, Laughs and Football

Author: Gary Lineker, Danny Baker

Narrator: Gary Lineker, Danny Baker

Unabridged: 7 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/19/2019


Synopsis

Brought to you by Penguin
***Includes a new foreword by Gary Lineker about football in lockdown***

Shortlisted for The Telegraph Sports Book Awards

'Lineker is nearly as good a presenter as I was a footballer' DIEGO MARADONA
'Hilarious, almost as funny as me' ALAN SHEARER
'This is Lineker unleashed. As a non-football nut I didn't expect to enjoy it, but between laddish anecdotes are passages of sudden tenderness. . . Lineker opens up, dislodging memories and reflections, not just about football but his whole life.' THE TIMES
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'Football is a simple game. 22 players chase a ball for 90 minutes, and at the end the Germans always win.'

This book is inspired by the stories Danny and I have shared with each other about what life in football is really like: in the dressing room, in the commentary box, on the pitch and - with the appropriate pixellation - in the showers afterwards.

What's it really like to play with Messi? I wouldn't know, but I have starred alongside him in an advert for Walkers crisps. And, well, his performance was world-class.

And what is a life in football really like? You won't learn much from the dull-as-dishwater post-match interviews - it's a world of secrets, superstitions, laughs and personalities, and let me tell you, half of it you won't believe.

I've looked back at my playing days, from England to Leicester, Everton to Barcelona, Tottenham to, er, Nagoya Grampus Eight, and shared the chaotic behind-the-scenes secrets of Match of the Day - and Danny has chipped in with stories from a lifetime following the game as a fan.

From Italia '90 to Leicester's Premier League fairytale, from yellow cards to World Cup trophies (I've never been awarded either), from Gascoigne to Maradona, you'll find it all here - everything you always wanted to know about football, but didn't realise that you did.

Inspired by the No.1 podcast Behind Closed Doors

Reviews

Goodreads review by Brownskinnedreader on October 09, 2025

Single Dad , Check Leader of a Private Crime Organization , Check Starting Wars behind his daughter and her teacher, Check Check Check Mia is one to usually display her "Darling" side when faced with adversity. However, when children are involved she will not cower for anyone and stand tall to protect......more

Goodreads review by Amelia on August 23, 2025

Title: Behind Closed Doors Author: Shain Rose Series: Kept in Paradise #1 What to expect: *Mafia romance *Boss x Employee *OW drama Once the book is published I will come back to my review and update in more detail. For now, this book is just not for me. This is absolutely a personal trigger thing, not a r......more

Goodreads review by Nessa’s Book Reviews on September 10, 2025

Okay, Paradise Grove is giving me “rich people problems but make it deadly” and I am HERE for it. We’ve got: 
- A billionaire enclave that looks picture-perfect but is dripping with scandal.
 - Jameson Knight, the broody single dad with dangerous secrets and a jawline sharp enough to cut glass.
 - The t......more

Goodreads review by Cheryl on November 08, 2025

Jameson appeared in Pretty Pink Poison. Just from the little bit that I met of him, I liked him. Thus, I was so excited to read his story. He showed a bit of a cheeky side in Pretty Pink Poison. Yet, in this book, it took a while for him to let loose and show this side of himself again. Besides bein......more

Goodreads review by Teresa on October 05, 2025

Single father? Forced proximity? Organized crime? Check, check, check!!! Shain Rose has created a world in Paradise Grove that will keep me coming back for more (especially once you learn who book #2 will be able....yay!!!). Mia and Jameson are sunshine/grumpy and yet they are perfect for one another......more


Quotes

This is Lineker unleashed. As a non-football nut I didn’t expect to enjoy it, but between laddish anecdotes are passages of sudden tenderness. Lineker recalls deathbed conversations with his father, Barry, a Leicester market trader who’d taken him and his childhood team-mates to matches in his fruit and veg van. The process seems to have acted as a sort of talking therapy for Lineker, opening him up, dislodging memories and reflections, not just about football but his whole life. THE TIMES

Gary Lineker and Danny Baker relate stories both honest and hilarious about the world of football. SUNDAY EXPRESS

Without doubt, it’s one of the funniest books around. FourFourTwo

Is there anything Gary Lineker can’t do? RADIO TIMES

This personal and often hilarious book is the perfect gift for any footie fanatic. OK! MAGAZINE