England star Jude Bellingham says he will “always respect” coach Gareth Southgate after being asked about his future.
The Three Lions were beaten 2-1 by Spain in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday, marking another final defeat under the former Middlesbrough boss.
Nico Williams opened the scoring, before substitute Cole Palmer leveled things up in the second half.
But Mikel Oyarzabal scored the winner minutes from time, to give Spain their fourth European title.
Bellingham played the entire game for England but was unable to make an impact on the field.
He set up Palmer's goal and missed another big chance, which proved costly for Berlin.
Southgate has put his faith in the 21-year-old following his impressive campaign for Real Madrid and Bellingham says he will be happy if he stays until the 2026 World Cup.
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Jude Bellingham vented his frustration after the whistle 💔 pic.twitter.com/HUrMYj9myb
– B/R Football (@brfootball) July 14, 2024
He said: “He's a person who, I think, in the last year or two, our relationship has gone a bit beyond football, where I feel like I can open up to him more and I think that speaks volumes. the kind of man he is as well.
“Whatever happens with Gareth, I will always respect him. If he stays, I will be even more determined to get him something because he deserves it.
“Sometimes numbers and statistics, records don't lie, he was our most successful manager since 1966.
So whatever he decides, he will always respect me and my love.”
The country was left frustrated after Spain scored a goal towards the end of the game and the situation was visible on the faces of the players when they collected their medals.
Bellingham again showed maturity beyond his years in his post-game interview and summed up the state of the nation very well.
We fell short of what we wanted to achieve this summer, but this team gave it their all and made us proud.
Your support in Germany and at home has been wonderful. Thank you. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/YBivqQXfJe
– England (@England) July 14, 2024
He added: “We all wanted something other than making history and making the people of England proud and we couldn't do it, we didn't make it.
“There are reasons for that and I am sure as a team and going forward, we will analyze it but I think it is still a growing team.
“It's really disappointing because sometimes we have to do work, but there are people who have experience and we can take something from this competition going forward.
“I think if you look at everything negatively, nothing will change.
“So it's important that we choose the good and the bad together and find a way to one day get England over the line.
“I came here to win. We came here to win. As I said, there are experiences that we can take to the next one. So I guess you can say some kind of comfort.
“It's one of those where maybe you need more time to digest it and analyze it, and we'll do that as a team, individually, see how it went and then go back.
“It's a young team with a lot of potential and I know people are frustrated that we're not there yet, but I feel like it's coming.”
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