We usually eat in a production room between watching the games and the programme and they just suggested eating around the corner instead, but it turned out that around 30 people were there, including my wife Janet, son Adam, Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and lots of production staff and editors from the show.
It was a really nice gesture, and there have been a stream of text messages and calls – I took a call from Des Lynam last week – and the Premier League also treated me to a dinner.
But the most satisfying thing for me is that, since I announced my plans to retire in The Daily Telegraph last September, the general public have been fantastic.
I would say that 99 per cent of the people I have spoken to have told me not to do it and that they cannot believe I am going, and it has been the most endearing part of this because the viewers are as important as the football itself.
But it is time for me to move on and the World Cup will be my last involvement with football on the BBC.
And I could not have chosen a better way to go out – a World Cup in Brazil, with all the colour and imagination that it will bring.
Ever since watching Brazil win the World Cup in Mexico in 1970, with the greatest team I have ever seen, I have been a huge admirer of their football.
I played against the best team never to win the World Cup when Scotland lost 4-1 to Brazil in 1982 and it would be incredible to witness a Brazilian victory in Rio de Janeiro.
Match of the Day will continue to be the institution it has always been and my departure will make no difference to that.
I am sure that Alan Shearer will take my seat, with other pundits emerging to add their insight to the show.
But Match of the Day is probably one of the hardest shows to do because every minute of it is accounted for before you even start and, if you only have 10 seconds to make a point, it is not as easy as some people might imagine.
I always found Match of the Day 2 much easier to work on because it often involved just two or three games. You then find yourself with six or seven minutes to analyse what has happened, which makes it so much easier.
I have worked with some fantastic people, though, and been so fortunate to have Des Lynam and then Gary Lineker presenting the show.
Des was phenomenal, he could take absolutely anything in his stride and he made me comfortable to express my thoughts and opinions.
When Des left, Gary had an almost impossible act to follow, but the transition was absolutely seamless.
We did not really know each other beforehand, having not played together as footballers, but our chemistry off screen was instant and it has been easy to work with Gary, who really knows his stuff and is a consummate professional.
That is why, with Gary and Alan Shearer still involved next season, Match of the Day will remain the iconic show it has always been.
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