Gareth Southgate has admitted he made the decision to step down as England manager long before the Three Lions lost to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
Confirmation of Southgate’s departure came just two days after England fell at the last hurdle Europe’s premier competition, with a protracted search for a replacement eventually leading the Football Association to former Chelsea and Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel.
During a guest appearance on the BBC Desert Island Discs, Southgate admitted he listened to Adelina ‘Someone Like You’ to help him come to terms with his decision to leave England during Euro 2024.
“I kept playing until the end of last Euro because I knew I was going to leave,” Southgate said.
“I’ve decided it’s time for a change on all sides and there are so many words in it that even if I hear them today, it’s about my relationship with England and their relationship with me, and how I really feel all that.
“Like how they have to move on and how you wish them the best and there are regrets and actually there were memories to be made. There are so many lines in it that actually really resonated with me.”
Southgate is heavily linked with a return to managing a whole host of Premier League teams including Manchester Unitedbut he insisted that he did not want to rush back to work.
“Fact [England] is one of the biggest jobs, I think, which meant I wanted to give myself more time to talk to a lot of fascinating people who worked on big jobs and find out what they did afterwards,” Southgate explained.
“I don’t want to betray their trust, but people have been very generous in sharing and talking about these things, and everyone has said, ‘Take your time.’
“I’ve been a player and a coach for 37 years, and I’m not against the next period of my life being completely different. When you have one of the biggest jobs, how do you follow it up?”
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