Gareth Southgate has revealed he decided to step down as England manager before the end of Euro 2024.
Southgate said in the immediate aftermath of England’s 2-1 final defeat to Spain in July that he would “speak to the right people” about his future.
The 54-year-old eventually resigned two days after the Berlin final but, guesting on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, he said that he knew it was time to move on.
Southgate chose the Adele hit Someone Like You as one of the eight songs he would take with him if cast away to a desert island, explaining he had the track on repeat during the tournament in Germany because “I knew I was going to be leaving”.
The song, which appears on Adele’s 2011 album 21, is written from the perspective of a woman addressing her former partner.
He said: “There were so many of the words in it that, even if I hear it today, it relates to my relationship with England.
“They’ve got to move on and you wish them the best and there are regrets, but there were actually memories that were made.”
Southgate – who led England to two European Championship finals and a World Cup semi-final during his eight-year stay between 2016 and 2024 – hinted again that his next job could be away from football.
He said in November that he was not limiting his future options to football management and was “contemplating a change of direction”.
“When you’re a coach and you’ve had one of the biggest jobs, how do you follow that up?” Southgate told presenter Lauren Laverne during the Desert Island Discs episode released on Sunday.
As well as his eight chosen tracks, Southgate was allowed to pick a book and a luxury item to take to a desert island.
He selected a coffee machine as his luxury item, saying that he had become a “coffee snob” recently, with his chosen book being The Chimp Paradox by psychiatrist Professor Steve Peters.