Ahead of the new season, Lineker revealed who the "greatest player" he's ever watched is, what his transfer value in today's market would be like and how his career as a forward with Barcelona has impacted him.
Lineker described the 2022 World Cup final as "completely nuts," after France and Argentina went to extra time to determine a victor. The contest certified Lionel Messi's status as the "greatest ever" for Lineker.
"For me, [he is] the greatest player I've had the pleasure of watching. [Messi] has given me immense joy for two decades. And he just does things that ordinary mortals can't do," Lineker told GOAL. "He's just a joy to watch. Just every single game I watch that he plays. Even on his quiet days, he'll do three or four things in one game that I don't think I would have done once in my whole career.
"He's kind of stopped all arguments, in a way, really."
Lineker is still the only Englishman to put on a Barcelona shirt since World War II. He wore the badge of the club where Messi made a name for himself, making 102 appearances for the Blaugrana while scoring 42 goals in the process. Most memorably, a hat-trick in El Clasico, where Lineker scored twice in the opening five minutes of the match.
"It was the first one I played at the Nou Camp, and I scored two goals in the first five minutes, both very close range, and I got goosebumps. The noise was incredible... 120,000 fans," he said. "It was about five minutes into the second half. I had a one on one with a goalkeeper I believe was Buyo... Dinked it over him and when I saw it going in, it was just magical."
Looking back on his career abroad and in England, Lineker jokingly told GOAL that if he was playing in his prime in present-day, his transfer value would make him the third-most expensive deal ever made.
"Well, somebody translated it the other day. They said if you take that into account and all the things that have moved on, inflation, all those kind of things, that would have valued me around $140 million.... which would have been a bargain."
Check out the full episode of Box to Box on GOAL's Youtube Channel
