Gary Neville vs Gary Lineker in battle of the podcasts after multi-million Disney deal
The battle lines have been drawn in what’s shaping up to be a brilliant multi-million pound streaming war between two of football’s biggest names.
Disney+ announced today that it has snapped up the rights to Gary Neville’s Stick to Football podcast in a deal worth millions, putting it on a direct collision course with Gary Lineker’s The Rest is Football over on Netflix.
Lineker’s show, produced by his Goalhanger company alongside regulars Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, landed an eye-watering £14million Netflix deal and performed so well during the World Cup that it earned a two-year extension running through to Euro 2028.
Now Neville has fired back with his own heavyweight streaming partnership, and both programmes are set to return later this month as the new Premier League season kicks off.
Gary Neville and Gary Lineker’s mega-money podcast deals pits them against each other in the streaming wars of football
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STICKTOFOOTBALL/RESTISFOOTBALL
The Disney+ agreement is a one-year exclusive deal that also includes title sponsorship of the show, which features Neville alongside Jamie Carragher, Roy Keane, Ian Wright, and Jill Scott.
Fans can expect 40 episodes of Stick to Football across the season, with 20 of those available exclusively on Disney+ for a limited window before wider release. On top of that, the streaming platform has commissioned six additional episodes filmed outside the UK with special guests.
There’s also a brand-new spin-off to get excited about. Manchester United’s all-time record goalscorer Wayne Rooney is teaming up with YouTube content creator Mark Goldbridge for Stick to United, which will run for a whopping 50 episodes this season.
Stick to United launches on Tuesday 18 August, with Stick to Football following on Thursday 20 August.
Neville said he was “immensely proud” of the new partnership, describing Disney+ as “one of the world’s most iconic entertainment brands.”
“Our community will continue to enjoy our content in exactly the way they always have through YouTube, while at the same time Disney+’s incredible global streaming audience will now be able to discover and enjoy it too,” he added.
“It’s a partnership that expands our reach without compromising our identity.”
Rooney, who also works with the BBC during the Premier League season, called the move a natural progression after his previous guest appearances on Overlap shows.
“I am delighted to co-host Stick to United with Mark Goldbridge, which will be available to watch on The United Stand in addition to Disney+, where The Real Rooneys featuring me, Coleen and our 4 boys will premiere soon,” he said.
Goldbridge described the collaboration as “a historic milestone for fan-led media.”
It’s fair to say the two camps haven’t been shy about a bit of needle, either.
When Lineker’s Netflix deal was first revealed, Carragher couldn’t resist having a pop at the rival show.
“The Netflix deal for the podcast that no-one listens to. I don’t know anyone who listens to it,” the former Liverpool defender said.
Following his BBC exit, Gary Lineker secured a huge deal with Netflix
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GETTYLineker, though, was more than happy to hit back. Asked by The Athletic in June whether there was a genuine rivalry between the two programmes, he was pretty blunt.
“Podcast-wise, no. We’re so far ahead in terms of the football,” he said. “Theirs is a YouTube show and it does really well on YouTube — it’s not really a podcast. I saw Jamie last week and we had a bit of a laugh about it.”
The numbers tell an interesting story, though, and it’s not quite as clear-cut as Lineker suggests.
The Overlap, which houses Neville’s content, boasts 1.75 million YouTube subscribers and claims to pull in a staggering 38 million monthly views on the platform, having racked up 2.2 billion views across all platforms in 2025.
Lineker’s show, meanwhile, has amassed 510,000 YouTube subscribers — though the presenter himself insists it’s more of a podcast than a YouTube channel. Goalhanger claimed last December that The Rest is Football was attracting seven million monthly listeners, and during the World Cup it hit Netflix’s daily top 10 charts on every single day of its 40-episode run.
Roy Keane, Jamie Carragher, Ian Wright and Gary Neville are often guests on the Stick to Football Podcast
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YOUTUBEFor fans weighing up which platform to subscribe to, a Disney+ premium membership costs £14.99 a month, while Netflix’s premium tier comes in at £18.99.
Both shows have also proved they can set the agenda well beyond the studio, sometimes landing their hosts in hot water.
Roy Keane memorably likened Erling Haaland to a “League Two player” on Stick to Football in 2024, prompting a sharp response from then-Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.
“I’m surprised this came from a former player,” Guardiola said. “Their memory disappears quickly.”
Lineker, meanwhile, sparked a row during Euro 2024 when he branded England’s 1-1 draw with Denmark “s***”, leading captain Harry Kane to fire back.
“They have a responsibility as an ex-England player that a lot of players looked up to,” Kane said. “People do care about what they say and people do listen to them.”
With both programmes returning from their post-World Cup breaks later this month, the Gary v Gary streaming showdown is only just getting started.
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