Gareth Southgate reveals moment he decided to quit as England manager
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Gareth Southgate listened to a lot of Adele's music during the final stages of Euro 2024 as he grew emotional about quitting his job as England manager. Southgate stepped down as England boss on July 16 in the wake of the defeat by Spain in the final of the Euros. He spent eight years at the helm of the men’s national team, guiding them to the semi-finals of the World Cup and two European Championship finals before eventually being succeeded by Thomas Tuchel.
In the aftermath of England’s 2-1 loss in Berlin, Southgate said he would “speak to the right people” about his future. He announced his departure two days after the disappointment, but has now revealed that he had made up his mind well before Mikel Oyarzabal’s winning goal.
Appearing on the BBC’s Desert Island Discs programme, he chose Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’ as one of his eight tracks, before explaining that its sentimental value stemmed from the difficult times in Germany. "I kept playing it towards the end of the last Euros, because I knew I was going to be leaving,” Southgate told Lauren Laverne. "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.
