Southgate admits he may never return to management after falling out of love with football

Gareth Southgate has suggested he may never return to football management, more than a year after stepping down as England head coach following their Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.

Speaking on The Amol Rajan Connection, the 54-year-old was asked whether he could see himself returning to the Premier League. “I don’t see a scenario where I do that,” he said. “Towards the end of my time with England, I stopped enjoying — at the very least for a period — the wins keep you going. By the end, I didn’t even enjoy the wins for any longer than a couple of minutes.”

Southgate revealed the extent of his detachment from the sport, saying he has barely watched football since leaving the role. “I went to the FA Cup final to see my team, Crystal Palace, win their first trophy. I’ve not been to a football ground since. So my sort of desire to be involved in football has changed.”

Despite being linked with several high-profile vacancies — including the Manchester United job — Southgate appears in no hurry to re-enter the dugout. Since leaving England, he has worked as a technical observer for UEFA and taken up a visiting lectureship at Harvard Business School.

“I’ve loved the last 18 months of my life,” he said. “I’ve had 37 years where my sense of self depended on did I win or lose on Saturday. And actually I’ve loved having different experiences. I’ve met politicians, I’ve met people in the media industry, I have learned about leadership in all sorts of areas, I’ve travelled around the world learning things. I’ve just enjoyed playing a different film in my life.”

Southgate was appointed England manager in 2016 as Roy Hodgson’s successor and went on to deliver the country’s most sustained run of tournament success in decades. He guided the Three Lions to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup — where they were beaten by Croatia — before reaching back-to-back European Championship finals in 2021 and 2024, losing to Italy on penalties and then to Spain respectively.

He was replaced by Thomas Tuchel, who led England to the semi-finals of Euro 2025 in his first tournament in charge.