Gareth Southgate has signed a new three-year contract as England manager that will take him beyond the next European Championships in the summer of 2024.
Southgate – the most successful England manager since World Cup winner Sir Alf Ramsey in 1966 – has been rewarded for his work taking the national team to the finals of Euro 2020 this summer.
The 51-year-old currently earns £3million a year but his deal includes a significant increase on that figure. It is thought he will now earn in the region of £5m a year if performance bonuses are met.
England manager Gareth Southgate has signed a new three-year contract with the FA
The Three Lions manager saw his side qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar last week
Sportsmail revealed earlier this month that Southgate had agreed a deal in principle and that it would be announced once qualification for next winter’s World Cup in Qatar had been secured.
This contract will see Southgate and his assistant Steve Holland – who has also signed a new deal – take the team to Qatar and then into the European Championship in Germany that follow in the summer of 2024.
Today Southgate said: ‘I am delighted that Steve and I have been able to increase our stay in our respective roles.
‘It remains an incredible privilege to lead this team. We have a great opportunity in front of us.’
Southgate will want to go one step further in Qatar after the Euro 2020 final loss this summer
Southgate originally took charge of the England team in a temporary capacity after Sam Allardyce left the post after just one game in September 2016. He then signed a contract to do the job full-time two months later.
In his five years as coach Southgate has taken England to the World Cup semi-final in Russia in 2018 and to July’s Euros final against Italy at Wembley.
He also led England to the finals of the inaugural Nations League in summer 2019.
Asked how he would feel if he went to the end of his new deal, and serve as long as greats such as Sir Bobby Robson and Sir Alf Ramsey, Southgate said: ‘I think that England has been a massive part of my life, supporter, player, under-21 manager and now manager and the people you’re talking about, I’ve always been aware of the history.
Southgate celebrates with the fans at Wembley after England made it into the Euro 2020 final
‘The tournaments and big matches are what inspired me as a kid and to be able to connect people to that has been very, very special and the team can still improve, want to improve.’
Asked if his team would reach its peak under his charge, he added: ‘I think what you hope, you want sustained success and when you look at the top nations who’ve won over years and years, Germany, Italy, France… they have odd fallow years but are generally contending for major tournaments.
‘We have to make sure the team constantly evolves. We are now in a group of teams we believe can genuinely challenge. Six, seven years ago we went with hope, but now we can be genuinely positive.
‘We know expectation is higher but that’s good, the team is better than they were three years ago.’
Southgate hands out a debut cap to Conor Gallagher after the qualifier against San Marino
Asked if club management tempted him after seeing a number of domestic changes, Southgate said: ‘We had already agreed (to stay before the international break), but the conversations with (The FA), we knew what we wanted to do. Sometimes people are looking what’s next in life and their career, and don’t live a fulfilling life where you are.
‘When you’ve done work culturally and where they can challenge (for titles), you want to bring that to fruition. We’ve only won one World Cup but we have to believe that’s possible, it’s an aim we have as a team.
‘To step away when we think the next few years could have been exciting, that could be difficult to live with. If this contract is the last, I will only be 53 at the end of it and I hope there’ll be a lot of my life at the end of it!’
‘Asked if it will be his last England deal, he said: ‘We have only just agreed to stay. We are always thinking about what’s next but we have only just agreed to stay! If we are in a position where it’s my decision to make in three years, we’ll be in a place where we’ve done a good job.’
Southgate with his team Steve Holland, Paul Nevin and Chris Powell sing the national anthem
Asked if he was tempted to not renew, he said: ‘There was never a consideration I wouldn’t go to Qatar.
‘I wanted to be sure I was wholly committed beyond that. Tournaments take a lot out of you and the way it ended for us took a lot of emotion and energy, and we were so quickly back in World Cup qualifying and I wanted to allow myself that consideration.
‘I didn’t want it to be a case of me agreeing something with my mind somewhere else in 18 months. I’ve signed to the Euros and if the team carry on playing at the level we know they can, that’s when we take the next decision. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t rushing into a decision that further down the line I might regret.’
Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham said: ‘Gareth and Steve have built a really strong culture with the players and support team and are best placed to take this young team forward.
‘The success comes with revised expectations. We used to celebrate qualifying, now we expect to reach the latter stages.
‘People will ask how we can afford this, but I will say this is a performance-related rise. Gareth and Steve care about the organisation. We are delighted Gareth and Steve have chosen to continue.’