GARETH SOUTHGATE HAS stood down as England manager, saying it is time for a “new chapter” for the English national team.

He announced his decision to quit in a statement issued by the Football Association on Tuesday morning, following the team’s defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday night.

“As a proud Englishman, it has been the honour of my life to play for England and to manage England. It has meant everything to me and I have given it my all,” he said in a statement.

“But it’s time for change and for a new chapter. Sunday’s final in Berlin against Spain was my final game as England manager.”

Southgate took charge in 2016, following the team’s ignominious exit to Iceland in that summer’s Euros and the short-lived reign of Sam Allardyce.

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham paid tribute to Southgate’s achievements in leading England to successive European Championship finals, as well as to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in his first tournament at the helm.

Bullingham indicated the process to find Southgate’s successor “is now under way” and said the FA had an “interim solution in place if needed”, with the team’s next matches coming in the Nations League in September.

Southgate himself backed his players to go on and “win the trophy we all dream of” in the future.

“I am so proud of them, and I hope we get behind the players and the team at St George’s Park and the FA who strive every day to improve English football and understand the power football has to drive positive change,” he said.

“My special thanks go to the backroom staff who have provided the players and me with unstinting support over the last eight years. Their hard work and commitment inspired me every day and I am so grateful to them – the brilliant ‘team behind the team’.

“We have the best fans in the world, and their support has meant the world to me. I’m an England fan and I always will be.”