Gareth Southgate launches new business venture with ex-Liverpool chief

Former England manager Gareth Southgate has launched a new podcast with ex-Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow, promising to lift the lid on football boardroom secrets from his eight years with the Three Lions

Gareth Southgate is undertaking an intriging new role with a former Premier League executive(Image: PA)

Gareth Southgate is poised to embark on a fresh venture that promises to reveal the inner workings of football's corridors of power. The former England manager, who stepped down following the Euro 2024 final loss to Spain, has yet to return to the dugout despite speculation linking him with several clubs, not least Manchester United.

Southgate has suggested he might not resume managerial duties at all, as his career takes a different trajectory. The 55 year old has announced the debut of a new podcast, The Football Boardroom, where he'll join forces with former Liverpool and Aston Villa executive Christian Purslow and journalist Henry Winter.

Southgate has pledged to reveal insights from his dealings with club officials, managers and owners throughout his eight-year stint as England manager.

In a statement, he declared: "What happens in the Football Boardroom? It's time to find out. Along with my business partner Jimmy Worrall, I'm pleased to announce the launch of a new podcast, The Football Boardroom.

"It's a project that's been some time in the making, and one that comes directly from my experiences inside the game. As England Manager, I was invited into every Premier League boardroom whenever I attended a match."

"While I was there primarily to watch players, another important part of the role was building relationships with managers, football directors, chief executives and, when they were present, owners.

"Over eight years, that added up to well over a thousand opportunities to observe how football clubs really function behind the scenes. The decisions, the dynamics, the personalities."

Christian Purslow(Image: Getty Images)

On what he learnt from observing leading clubs behind the scenes, he added: "It offered a remarkable insight into the business of the game and the people who shape it.

"What became clear very quickly was that success or failure in football isn't decided solely on the training ground, in the dugout or on the pitch. Those moments are influenced, sometimes decisively, by a much bigger game being played off the pitch.

"A game of money, power and politics, often conducted behind closed doors, where the stakes are extraordinarily high. The Football Boardroom aims to open those doors."

Among the club officials Southgate worked with during that period was Purslow, who served as Villa's CEO from 2018 to 2023. Before that, he held senior roles at Liverpool.

As managing director between June 2009 and October 2010, he oversaw the club's sale from unpopular then-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to current owners, Fenway Sports Group. Purslow also spent three years as Chelsea's head of global commercial activities between 2014 and 2017.