Ian Wright reveals real reason why he left Match of the Day

Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright looks on prior to the FA Cup Semi Final match between Manchester City and Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium on April 22, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan - The FA/The FA via Getty Images).

 Ian Wright has opened up on the thinking behind his decision to knock his Match of the Day duties on the head after bidding an emotional farewell to the show on the final day of the 2023/24 Premier League season.

The former Arsenal and England striker had been a fixture on the BBC’s flagship highlights programme for over two decades but hung up his punditry boots with the programme at the weekend.

The 60 year old has now explained that the long days preparing, travelling and shooting the programme in Salford was beginning to leave him sapped of energy to do much of anything else.

Ian Wright is now a prominent figure on Stick to Football (Image credit: Getty Images)

Compounding the issue, Wright was understandably loath to stay up north away from his London home after each episode of the show. His wife and children were threatened at knifepoint by burglars while he was away covering the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, Wright said: “It’s time. I had a dear friend who said that sometimes you’ve got to know when to step back, change, rest, have a break, and say no – it’s just time.

“The way I am now, because I have to get back to London [after filming] it’s like 3:30am in the morning – it’s a long day. I leave at 8am in the morning and get back at 12am [midnight].

“I don’t want to stay over in Manchester. I used to but there are personal reasons why I always want to get back home.

Wright will continue to work as a pundit (Image credit: Getty Images)

“Especially, when you’re on Match of The Day, you’re live and I’ve had a massive problem before with people knowing where you are, so I always want to get back home to the missus and the girls.

“It just takes me two to three days after that to get ready and there are other things I’m doing which I just haven’t got the energy for sometimes.

“I’m getting older, I just want to make sure I use the time well and efficiently for myself and at the moment, Match of the Day is the one that if something had to go, it had to be that.”

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