Gary Lineker regrets saying the BBC licence fee should be voluntary.
Earlier this year, Gary - who has presented \'Match of the Day\' on the channel for 20 years - said people should only have to pay the fee if they wish but he is now retracting his views.
He told the Daily Mail newspaper: "I was wrong, wasn\'t I? And we all get things wrong in life, and I hate admitting it, but the BBC is under threat and it\'s an incredible institution and I don\'t think I could live with myself if I played the slightest part in helping that happen. After I said it, there was a lot of debate, so I looked into it and... I\'ve seen sense.
"There isn\'t another way to fund it really. It\'s like the NHS. It\'s revered around the world, and I\'ve benefited from that, saying I work for the BBC and feeling the respect.
"It\'s quintessentially British and something we should be proud of -- and there\'s not that many things left like that."
Gary - whose BBC salary was between £1,750,000 and £1,754,999 in 2018-19 - admitted that his comments were due to frustration at being criticised for his high wages on \'Match of the Day\'.
He explained: "I think what I said was born of frustration, really, of being the BBC whipping boy. I\'m the high-earner, so it\'s always my face whenever there is a negative BBC story. I get a lot of \'we pay your wages\' and I probably felt if it wasn\'t down to the taxpayer then I wouldn\'t have to deal with that any more."
