Why Alan Hansen left Match of the Day after Liverpool legend's 22 years as a pundit

Iconic soccer highlights show "Match of the Day" parted ways with legendary pundit Alan Hansen back in 2014 after he spent 22 years working as an analyst.

The former Liverpool and Scotland defender started working on the show back in 1992 when the Premier League was formed, and was a fan favorite over the two decades he appeared on television screens across the UK. It was confirmed Sunday that Hansen, 68, was seriously ill in hospital with messages of support pouring in for the Liverpool legend.

Liverpool has confirmed it will keep fans updated with his condition while requesting privacy for the Hansen family during a difficult time. Hansen is still a beloved figure for his successful playing career and style of punditry, leading many fans to question why he was forced out of Match of the Day.

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Hansen announced at the start of the 2013-14 Premier League season that it was "time" for him to retire aged 59, but later down the line, he admitted that nerves played a huge part in his decision to leave. Initially, Hansen announced: "I’m retiring from Match of the Day at the end of the season. I will have been there for 22 years and will be 59, so it’s the right time for me."

The guys at the BBC know me and I said, ‘Look, this is categorical. I’m leaving and nothing will make me change my mind’. I am contracted to do the World Cup (2014 Brazil) and I will do that as it will be a good way to go out, but I have had a great run.

"I've been in football for 41 years and I’m going out right at the top, just as I did at Liverpool," he added. Hansen wanted to step down while operating at his peak, rather than delay his decision and potentially leave while in decline.

Hansen masked it well, but he admitted that he would still get nervous when going live on air, and despite the years of experience, it was actually getting worse towards the end. "There was no training, it was sink or swim," Hansen said in 2016. "I was lucky to work with a master, Des Lynam.

“After 22 years I kept on telling myself I wouldn’t get so nervous, but it got worse. That was one of the reasons I left. I was getting more nervous and I’d say: ‘What are you doing?’ The BBC were terrific, I loved the people and Match of the Day but I didn’t enjoy the nerves."

Hansen was part of an iconic "Match of the Day" team that saw him share the studio with presenter Gary Lineker and former Liverpool player Mark Lawrenson. Lineker still presents the show to this day, but Lawrenson has since left the BBC after being told by the broadcaster that the show was going in a "new direction".

Lineker adored working with Hansen and paid him the ultimate compliment by saying he was an inspiration for the future generation of pundits in the UK. "He was probably the first person that went down the more analytic route, a path now followed by so many," Lineker said in April 2023. "He was a brilliant pundit."