The money came from a string of clubs and bars he launched in Spain and Portugal, using the family name and trading on his brother's football career. It was Gary who gave Wayne the money to open the first one, on the Costa del Sol. Staff there would tell tourists that the former England captain was a regular at the place.

There was even a snug called 'Gary's Corner'.

There was no comment from Lineker on his brother's conviction at Southwark Crown Court in London last month, but they are known to be extremely close. "Apart from my wife and children, " the elder Lineker said back in 1996, "I am closer to Wayne than anyone."

Now his wife has gone away as well, escaping the prison of a 20-year marriage, and leaving her four sons to be looked after by their father.

It turns out that the people who admire and occasionally adore Lineker got it wrong: his marriage, long held up as an example of stability to younger, sillier sportsmen, wasn't all it was cracked up to be. According to their joint statement, there is nobody else involved "and never has been".

There is only 17 months between Gary and Wayne, and tumbling up in Leicester in the 1960s, it was Wayne who turned heads with his nascent footballing skills.

Even their father, Barry, believed the younger boy would be the star. "Wayne was tremendous: he had so much skill . . .a lot more than Gary." Barry had been a keen non-league player and by the age of eight, both his boys were season ticket holders with Leicester and playing twice a week in a club-backed youth scheme.

But the training regime set them apart.

From an early age, the older brother was disciplined and focused, and ultimately grafted harder than Wayne. Both boys were signed by Leicester in 1976, but it was Gary who broke through into the first team in 1979 while Wayne went off to work on the family's vegetable market stall.

The teacher who wrote of 16-year-old Gary "he must devote less of his time to sport if he wants to be a success" clearly didn't appreciate just how seriously her pupil applied himself to the subjects that mattered. He says he's always been interested in journalism and the media but back then, it was total football. He made 187 appearances for his unglamorous home side, scoring 95 goals along the way. His England debut came during his final season at Leicester, when he came on as a substitute against Scotland.

He would collect 80 caps before he retired from international duty as captain in 1992, a tantalising single goal short of Bobby Charlton's scoring record of 49.

He moved to Everton in 1985 for £800,000, and a season later was off to Barcelona. He thrived at the Spanish club, quickly becoming fluent in the language . . . something that endeared him hugely to the local fans, who still speak of the English goal poacher in reverent tones. He stayed in Spain for three seasons, before returning to England and Tottenham Hotspur in 1989. In 1993, at the age of 33, he raised eyebrows by looking east to the Japanese side, Nagoya Grampus 8, to finish out his career with six goals and a reputed shed load of cash.

A chronic toe injury eventually signalled a less-than-glorious exit from a career that might have sometimes lacked sparkle, but was never less than industrious.

He had met Michelle when she was still 14 and he was an 18-year-old player in the reserves. They met around the market, and though he was smitten, he didn't ask her out until she was 17 and a trainee beautician. They were married two years later.

Life looked considerably less charmed for the Linekers in 1991, when their newborn eldest child, George, was diagnosed with leukemia. The couple's troubles were splashed all over the tabloids and graciously borne by the new parents.

When George subsequently recovered, Lineker became an articulate spokesman for childhood cancer charities. These days, he says, George's greatest handicap is that he supports Manchester United.

As a player, he liked to hang around the press box during World Cup games that England weren't involved in, observing the whole process of sports reporting. His interest inspired ITV to invite him to do a pitch report during a Manchester United fixture in France in 1992: his first comment, inspired by the weather, was that "all the players will be wearing rubbers tonight".

From such acorns do careers in the most verbally challenged branch of the media grow. He signed a significant contract . . . said to be worth half-a-million . . .with the BBC in 1996 ahead of the European Championships and was thrown in at the deep end, anchoring 11 games during the tournament.

While he's fronted football for a decade, he's been flogging crisps for just as long.

As the face of Walker's crisps, he has lampooned his own Mr Nice Guy image and demonstrated a sense of humour that earned him a lengthy residency on the BBC's comedy sports quiz They Think It's All Over. Insiders on the show might have suggested that content had to be geared towards Lineker and jokes teed up for him, but he wouldn't be the first to benefit from the tricks of television.

He presents the golf now, as well as Match of the Day . . . a sure sign of the advance of middle age. According to the tabloids, it was the self-same march of time that prompted Michelle Lineker, recently 40, to leave her marriage while she still has time to make a new life for herself. He wanted her to stay, says the same red top, but since she's gone, he's been sending "saucy texts" to another woman. In another life, it might have earned him a yellow card. In this one, it'll probably just send the Walker's copywriters back to their drawing boards. No more Mr Nice Guy indeed.

C.V.

Occupation: Sports presenter
Born: 30 November 1960; Leicester
Married: To Michelle, 1985; four sons, George, Harry, Tobias and Angus
In the news: The former England captain announced the break-up of his marriage just days after his brother was imprisoned for fraud.

He will front the BBC coverage of the World Cup in Germany which begins on Friday