Gary Lineker delighted fans by sharing a rare photo with all four of his lookalike sons. The former footballer enjoyed a Sunday meal with his children – George, 28, Harry, 26, Tobias, 24, and Angus, 22, whom he shares with ex-wife Michelle Cockayne – documenting the family reunion on Instagram. Gary simply captioned the snap, "The boys", while his eldest son George also shared the same image to his own Instagram, which he captioned: "Sundays with the elites."
Gary's fans couldn't get over the family resemblance, with one commenting: "Spitting image of you @garylineker," and another added: "There's no way you could say they're not yours - they're the double of you!" While a third joked: "5 Gary's," and a fourth added: "Peas in a pod. Lovely photo."
© Photo: InstagramGary Lineker enjoyed Sunday lunch with his sons
Gary is very close to his children, and back in April 2019 he recalled the devastating moment his son George was given just one night left to live when he battled a rare form of leukaemia as a baby. George, now 28, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia after Gary and ex-wife Michelle noticed a lump on their young son's head.
© Photo: InstagramGary Lineker shares his four sons with ex-wife Michelle Cockayne
The Match of the Day presenter spoke about the heartbreaking time on BLANK podcast with Jon Daly and Giles Pale-Phillips, telling them: "I could cope with it while he was ill. I could cope with it while I felt there was hope. But there was a couple of times when they told us, they said, 'Honestly, we've got to warn you that we will be quite surprised if he makes it through the night.'" Luckily, George pulled through, but that didn't stop Gary facing his worst fears during the dark period.
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© Photo: InstagramGary Lineker is close to his sons; George, 28, Harry, 26, Tobias, 24, and Angus, 22
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He said: "It was a difficult feeling. It wasn't like a depressing feeling, it was more a – it was a fear and I used to have these awful dreams occasionally, of us carrying a little white coffin." The former footballer added that it was hope that kept him going. "I don't know why but at the same time whilst he was still alive, whilst he was being treated, whilst there was hope I was alright." He added: "While it was always ups and downs and difficult times, there was always hope. We didn't lose him, so I don't feel we were dreadfully unfortunate, I think we were unbelievably fortunate because the odds of him making it were pretty low and he did."
During his illness, George was treated in Great Ormond Street in London, and Gary has continued to support children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent, along with other charities including Leukaemia Busters and Cancer Research UK.
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