Former England manager Gareth Southgate has said he does not foresee a return to coaching after his “desire to be involved in football” has changed.
Southgate led the Three Lions to two finals of the Euros in 2021 and 2024 but fell agonisingly short of ending England’s wait since 1966 to win a major tournament.
The 56-year-old resigned shortly after Euro 2024 and since then has embarked on a range of other experiences rather than seeking a route back into the game.
Southgate has been a visiting lecturer at Harvard Business School in Boston and fronted a documentary where he travelled across the United Kingdom to understand challenges facing young men and boys.
“I don’t see a scenario where I do that,” Southgate told the Amol Rajan Connection podcast on a possible return to Premier League management.
“Towards the end of my time with England, I stopped enjoying, at the very least for a period, the wins that keep you going.
“By the end, I didn’t even enjoy the wins for any longer than a couple of minutes. So, I’ve hardly watched football.”
Southgate added he has not even visited a football stadium since going to see his first club Crystal Palace win the FA Cup final in May 2025.
“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.”
English football has been rocked in recent weeks by Manchester City’s guilty verdict on over 100 charges of breaking Premier League rules.
City have appealed and deny any wrongdoing, plunging the world’s most watched league into limbo awaiting a final ruling and decision on any potential sanction.
“My underlying thought is none of this is good for football and there are no winners,” said Southgate.
“Because if you’re at the Premier League, for a very brief moment you might feel justified that all the flak you’ve had for this case taking so long, this is why it’s taken so long and there’s the verdict, and I’m sure there’s an element of justification in that.
“Then there’s this realisation of how do we deal with all of this because you know the possibility of all the different legal cases that emerge from this, how long this could still take, what’s the right sort of punishment, how do you keep the whole game on track?
“That’s unbelievably complex.”
AFP
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