Southgate plays down prospect of club football return after two decades

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FT Desk

Gareth Southgate says it is unlikely he will return to club management, having last coached a club two decades ago.

The 56-year-old began his managerial career at Middlesbrough in 2006 after retiring as a player, but was dismissed in 2009 after a difficult spell. He later managed England’s Under-21 team, gaining valuable experience in international football.

Appointed England manager in 2016, Southgate led the team to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and consecutive European Championship finals in 2021 and 2024. He stepped down in July 2024 after transforming England into regular contenders at major tournaments.

He was previously linked with a return to club management with Manchester United but nothing materialised from those reports.

When asked if he would consider a return to managing in the Premier League, he told The Amol Rajan Connection podcast:

"I don't see a scenario where I do that.

"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. So, I've hardly watched football.

"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."

After leaving his post as England manager, Southgate has started a career in business, offering leadership consultations and corporate speaking opportunities. He also spent time as a visiting lecturer at Harvard Business School.

"I've loved the last 18 months of my life," he added.

"I've had 37 years where my sense of self depended on whether 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."

While Southgate was England manager, every club in the 'Big Six' changed manager at least one time apart from Manchester City, who had Pep Guardiola.

Plenty of big-name managers failed at these clubs in that period, including Ruben Amorim, Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, Erik ten Hag, Mauricio Pochettino, Graham Potter and Enzo Maresca.

Southgate previously said he can take some satisfaction that he would have done a better job than some of the above.

“I’ve got no passion to just go and manage in the Premier League," he said on the Football Boardroom podcast.

"I did that at 35, I finished 11th, 12th. Who is in those positions now, probably Bournemouth, Brighton?

“So I don’t feel the need to just go and do it to say I’ve managed in the Premier League. I’ve had one of the biggest jobs in world football so I’ve been spoiled. Huge nights, working with outstanding players. No owner interfering.

“The bit that, externally, people are saying is, ‘well, he didn’t win’. So how do you prove that you can win? You’ve got to one of those big clubs.

“Now we know those big clubs… do I think I could have done the job that some people who have been in those clubs recently have done? Could I do better? I think I could.

“But we’ve talked about the baggage that comes with me as an appointment if you’re an owner. And there’s a reality around (that), I can understand what that noise is. There’s that bit which makes me potentially a complicated appointment for a club.”