Gareth Southgate has admitted he made the decision to step down as England manager long before the Three Lions’ defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
Confirmation of Southgate’s departure came just two days later England fell at the last hurdle of Europe’s premier competition, with a long search for a replacement eventually leading the Football Association to former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel.
During an appearance on the BBC Desert Island Discs, Southgate confessed he listened to Adele ‘Someone Like You’ to help him come to terms with the decision he had made to leave England during Euro 2024.
“I kept playing it towards the end of the last Euros, because I knew he was going,” Southgate said.
“I had decided that it was time for changes on all sides and there are so many of the words that, even if I felt it today, it relates to my relationship with England and their relationship with me, and how I feel everything really .
“Like how they have to move on and you wish them well and there are regrets, and there were really memories to be made. There are so many lines that really resonated with me.”
Southgate has been heavily linked with a return to management with a whole host of Premier League teams including Manchester Unitedbut he insisted he doesn’t want to go back to work quickly.
“The fact (I think England) is one of the biggest jobs has meant I’ve wanted to give myself more time to talk to lots of fascinating people who have had great jobs and find out what they did next.” Southgate explained.
“I don’t want to betray their confidences, but people have been very generous in sharing and talking about these things, and they’ve all said, ‘Don’t rush.’
“I’ve been a player and coach for 37 years, and I’m not against the next period of my life being totally different. When you’ve had one of the most important jobs, how do you do it?”
