Stick to Football vs Rest is Football: How Lineker and Neville will lock horns in multi-million pound streaming war

STICK TO FOOTBALL and The Rest is Football are set to battle it out in a multi-million pound streaming war this season. Having each launched in 2023, both shows went from strength to strength during the World Cup. Gary Neville’s Stick to Football has landed a huge deal Credit: Getty Gary Lineker’s Rest is Football will stream on Netflix Credit: YouTube / The Rest Is Football Gary Lineker‘s The Rest is Football streamed daily on Netflix after securing an eye-watering £14million deal and performed well enough to earn a two-year extension up to Euro 2028. Stick to Football, fronted by Gary Neville, also achieved huge numbers on YouTube during the tournament, landing itself a “multi-million pound” deal with Disney+ for the upcoming campaign in the process. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! Jamie Carragher, a regular on Stick to Football, made a cheeky dig at his show’s rival after their initial Netflix deal was announced. The former Liverpool star said: “The Netflix deal for the podcast that no-one listens to. I don’t know anyone who listens to it.” Asked if it’s a true rivalry by The Athletic in June, however, Lineker ramped things up by saying: “Podcast-wise, no. We’re so far ahead in terms of the football. “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.” Both shows feature star-studded panels. Stick to Football is regularly co-hosted by Neville, Roy Keane and Ian Wright – with Jill Scott, Carragher and Wayne Rooney among their other regulars. Most read in Football BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS Rooney’s involvement will also increase next season, as a new “Stick to United” show is launched. The Red Devils’ all-time leading goalscorer will team up with Mark Goldbridge for 50 episodes – which will also stream on Disney+. The Rest is Football, meanwhile, features a more regular panel, with Lineker joined by Micah Richards and Alan Shearer. During the World Cup they were joined by some star guests, however, including Man Utd star Harry Maguire. Lineker’s show debuted on August 11, 2023 and has earned a not-to-be-sniffed-at 510,000 YouTube subscribers, despite the presenter himself calling it more of a podcast. It was said to have reached 140,000 daily views on Netflix during the early days of the World Cup. And last December Goalhanger, The Rest is Football’s parent company, claimed the show had a remarkable seven million monthly listeners. Stick to Football, which debuted on September 27, 2023, also boasts huge listener numbers. The Overlap, which is home to the show, has 1.75m YouTube subscribers. And earlier this year they claimed to have 38m monthly views on YouTube. Roy Keane is rarely shy of a big opinion on Stick to Football Credit: YouTube / The Overlap Michal Richards and Alan Shearer are Lineker’s regular partners Credit: YouTube / The Rest Is Football A Disney+ premium subscription to watch the show on that platform costs £14.99 per month in the UK. Netflix, meanwhile, is £18.99 per month for a premium membership. Both shows have provided agenda-setting punditry. And they have also ruffled some feathers. In 2024, Keane sensationally compared Erling Haaland to a “League Two player” during an appearance on the show. The comment reached then-Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, who fired back: “I’m surprised this came from a former player. From journalists, I can understand, never been on the pitch but former players is always a surprise. It’s like the referees when they retire they criticise the referees. “How difficult is that business for the players? It always surprises me. Their memory disappears quickly. “The problems the players have, they had. They missed a thousand, million times and they were hurt when they were criticised by the former players.” Lineker, meanwhile, got himself in hot water during Euro 2024 when he called England’s performance in a 1-1 draw with Denmark “s***”. The comment led to skipper Harry Kane hitting back, saying: “What ex-players have to realise is that it is very hard not to listen to it now, especially for some players who are not used to it or who are new to the environment. “I always feel like they have a responsibility. I know they have got to be honest and give their opinion but they also have a responsibility as an ex‑England player that a lot of players looked up to. “People do care about what they say and people do listen to them.” Following post-World Cup breaks, both shows are set to return later this month. And both, no doubt, will only further grow as agenda-setting football programmes. Ian Wright and Roy Keane bring big opinions and analysis to Stick to Football Credit: Getty Shearer combines his MOTD role with The Rest is Football Credit: YouTube / The Rest Is Football Comment now