Gareth Southgate makes main profession change as Gary Lineker prediction comes true

Gareth Southgate is yet to return to football management since resigning as England manager last summer and has now made a significant change away from the sport

Ex-England boss Gareth Southgate has made a career switch away from the beautiful game, just as Gary Lineker predicted.

Southgate, 54, stepped down from his role as England manager last July after an “extraordinary” eight-year stint, which ended with a heart-breaking defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.

This marked the second time the Three Lions fell short in a European Championship final under Southgate’s leadership, despite reaching the semi-finals and quarter-finals in two World Cup tournaments.

In the run-up to the Euros, Southgate found himself fending off rumours linking him to the Manchester United managerial position. Ex-FA chief Dan Ashworth, who had taken up the role of United’s sporting director, was reportedly keen on bringing Southgate onboard.

Despite the United job being available in October, Southgate was never really in the running. Instead, the North Yorkshire resident is putting his leadership prowess to use elsewhere.

And he’s given the strongest hint yet that his football management days are behind him. The Sun reveals that paperwork for MAS Investment Holdings Limited – the company managing Southgate’s £6.2million property empire – shows he’s switched his occupation from ‘football manager’ to ‘company director’.

The recent developments seem to confirm Lineker’s hunch following England’s 2-1 defeat to Spain. “I suspect this might be his last game in management,” Lineker mused on BBC Sport.

“What he has brought to this England team is a harmony, a like-ability that I think has re-engaged the English public towards football.”

Post his Wembley exit, Southgate has penned ‘Dear England: Lessons on Leadership’, set to hit shelves later this year.

Southgate said: “After stepping down as England manager following eight very special years, I’ve been reflecting on what I have lived through and what comes next.

“Coaching top players and playing against some of the best teams in the world pushed me to operate at the highest level in football. Rather than write a memoir of those times I decided to share my experiences in a different way, through the lens of leadership which I hope will provide lessons for anyone who wants to discover their own authentic leadership style.”

In a recent spotlight moment, Southgate delivered the BBC’s prestigious Richard Dimbleby Lecture last month, grabbing headlines with his take on male role models. “These are callous, manipulative and toxic influencers, whose sole drive is for their own gain,” he critiqued.

“They willingly trick young men into believing that success is measured by money or dominance, that strength means never showing emotion, and that the world, including women, is against them.”

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