Gareth Southgate: Man United, Crystal Palace-linked manager issues big update on future plans

Sir Gareth Southgate has provided a fresh update on his managerial future amid speculation linking him with a return to the Premier League.

The 55-year-old has been out of work since resigning from his post as England manager following the Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.

Southgate spent eight years in charge of the Three Lions and reached two European Championship finals (2020, 2024) as well as secured a third-placed finish in the 2018-19 UEFA Nations League, but he was ultimately unable to bring football back home.

He previously coached England Under-21s for three years, while his first and only job in club management was with Middlesbrough between 2006 and 2009, managing over 150 games.

Despite that, Southgate has been linked with some soon-to-be vacant managerial roles at Premier League clubs, including Manchester United and Crystal Palace, where he spent the first seven years of his playing career.

Southgate’s future plans become clear amid Man Utd, Palace rumours

Man United are on the lookout for a new permanent boss after sacking Ruben Amorim at the beginning of this year, with Michael Carrick now in interim charge until the end of the season.

Crystal Palace, meanwhile, know that their current head coach Oliver Glasner has decided to leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Speaking on The Football Boardroom podcast with journalist Henry Winter and Christian Purslow - former CEO of Aston Villa, Liverpool and Chelsea - Southgate revealed that an imminent return to management is not on the cards.

"I've got no passion to just go and manage in the Premier League," said Southgate. "I did that at 35, I finished 11th, 12th. Who is in those positions now? Probably Bournemouth, Brighton? I don’t need to do just 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.”

On Man United, Southgate admitted: “Man United is an enormous club. I’m a United fan. We used to live in Bury when I was a kid. The ’76 FA Cup [final] when they lost to Southampton would have been the first [memory]”.

Southgate left many England supporters divided over his ‘success’ as manager, and he believes that he would be on the receiving end of backlash if a club such as Man United were to appoint him, given that some perceive him as a failure with the Three Lions.

Southgate in no hurry to return to management

"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 go to one of those big clubs," Southgate said.

"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."

Southgate added: "I don't want to go and manage a different national team. Club? It's honestly not what I'm looking to do.

"Now, two years after leaving England, I'm not actively looking for a role in coaching. If that European final was the bit (in coaching) I wouldn't worry about that.

"Because there is another 15 to 20 years of my life ahead of me and I’m excited about a different video, a different movie, a different part of my life."

Instead of returning to coaching, Southgate is now focussed on business ventures and is also set to host a brand new podcast-style TV show on the BBC called 'One of a Kind' for which he will interview successful leaders and winners from various industries.