I signed for Tottenham's dream team - then my agent called me

Gary Lineker reminisced on a major turning point in his career, lamenting the decision of to sell Chris Waddle shortly after his move from Barcelona—a move he believes cost him up to 15 goals each season at Spurs. His stint in North London was prolific nonetheless; Lineker scored 74 times in 122 appearances over four seasons and clinched an FA Cup winner's medal in 1991—his solitary major English football honour.

The revered host is also renowned for his scoring prowess at Leicester, Everton, Barcelona, and for England, with whom he netted 48 goals from 80 caps.

Lineker praised Chris Waddle's influence on his game during their time together with the national team, which played a significant role in his choice to sign for Tottenham 35 years ago. However, that potential dream partnership was cut short as Marseille swooped in with £4.5million to take Waddle away.

Discussing this period on the podcast earlier this year, where he appears alongside Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, Lineker shared: "I got the news Chris Waddle had been sold about a month after I signed for Tottenham and he was one of the major reasons for signing, because I loved playing with Chris Waddle for England. He was unbelievably good and a fantastic crosser of the ball.

"I was on holiday [when he heard the news]. It was pre-season. I signed just at the end of the season in Spain and was coming back from Barcelona.

"Obviously, they had Gazza [Paul Gascoigne], Waddle and lots of really good [players]. I thought this is a side that, with another couple of signings [Tottenham could be a real force]."

Lineker, recalled how the conversations with Terry Venables left him excited for the future: "When I signed, I had a good conversation with Terry Venables and he was saying; 'We are really trying to get [Peter] Beardsley, as well. I thought that we would take some stopping.

"Then all of a sudden it became quite apparent that the club had financial problems. If you remember it ended up with a takeover with Terry Venables and Alan Sugar was involved, all this kind of thing. The club was in a mess. So they got this offer of £4 million, which was a lot of money at the time, for Chris Waddle from Marseille.

"Going from signing Beardsley and playing up front with him, then suddenly I'd lost Chris Waddle. When I got the news on the beach, my agent called me and said; 'You're not going to believe this. They've just sold Chris Waddle'. Honestly, it felt like someone had stolen 15 goals a season from my pocket."