Gareth Southgate reveals when he decided to leave England job | OneFootball

Gareth Southgate has admitted he had taken the decision to step down as England manager well before the Three Lions' defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.

Confirmation of Southgate's departure came just two days after England fell at the final hurdle of Europe's premier competition, with a lengthy search for a replacement ultimately leading the Football Association to former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel.

During an appearance on BBC’s Desert Island Discs, Southgate confessed he listened to Adele's '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 I was going to be leaving," Southgate said.

"I'd made my mind up that it was time for change on all sides and there are so many of the words within it that even if I hear it today that it relates to my relationship with England and their relationship with me, and how I feel about it all really.

"Like how they've got to move on and you wish them the best and there are regrets, and there were actually memories to be made. There are so many lines in it that actually really resonated with me."

Southgate fell short in the Euro 2024 final / Dan Mullan/GettyImages

Southgate has been heavily linked with a return to management with a whole host of Premier League sides, including Manchester United, but insisted he is not looking to rush back to work.

"The fact [England] is one of the biggest jobs, I think, has meant I've wanted to give myself more time to talk to lots of fascinating people who have been in big jobs and find out what they did after that," Southgate explained.

"I don't want to betray their confidences but people have been very generous with sharing and talking about those things, and all of them have said, 'Don't rush'.

"I've been 37 years a player and coach, and I'm not against the next period of my life being totally different. When you've had one of the biggest jobs, how do you follow that up?"