Indeed, Hodgson himself said he will "step away from the rigours of top-flight Premier League football."
The decision comes after four campaigns in which Hodgson steered the club to famous results, iconic memories and stability in the world's most competitive league.
Hodgson gave a lengthy press conference shortly after making the announcement public, and you can read everything he had to say on departing below.
The decision
"It’s a decision which hasn’t exactly been taken overnight. It’s been really brewing for a long time at the back of my mind: when the right time to leave the club and even football for a while will be the end of this season. I’m pleased that despite the speculation of the last two or three months, we’ve been able to keep things on a pretty even keel.
'It looks like we’re ending the season in a dignified way, and that was important to me. I didn’t want to end my time at Crystal Palace Football Club in a way that didn’t reflect what we’ve done over the last three or four years.
"I can’t say it’s been easy, but it’s not one that's come upon me quickly… it’s given me the chance to come to terms with asking myself the question: ‘Are you totally comfortable with this thought that you’re going to move away?’ Crystal Palace being so close to my heart has added extra spice and given me more to think about.
"The club is in a very good place at the moment, it’s going to build, get stronger, the fanbase as everyone knows is quite incredible and I’m just happy to have been a part of it for four years. I’m very happy with the way they’ve treated me, accepted me and Ray Lewington and the staff. I shall miss them too, but that’s part and parcel of all goodbyes. When you say goodbye you’re going to miss someone."
What's next
"One never knows. It’s a dangerous thing to do, when you still feel good about yourself and enjoying life in football, to start making bold statement about retirement and ‘this is the end of me within the world of football’. I really don’t know, but I’m certainly not leaving Crystal Palace with the idea of putting myself back on the market for another job.
"I really am stepping away from football for a while. I’m excited for what the future brings - I still have a future, whether that’s in football or elsewhere. It’s a never say never moment, I think.
"My thoughts are more or less focused on having time to myself, going home not mulling over selection problems or problems at the club that require your management skill. It will be nice to go to a game not thinking about who we’re playing at the weekend.
"I’d like to travel. There are a lot of places I’d like to travel which you can’t do in full-time employment. It’s very much a 9-5 job, if not more. I’m looking forward to that and, with any luck, I’ll get a chance to do more travelling.
"I’m quite interested to see how life will be for me and what I’ll feel like doing, apart from the obvious knowing it will be not easy saying goodbye to something you’ve been doing on a daily basis for 45 years. With my wife and son’s support, I’m confident I’ll find something to occupy myself."
The last four seasons
"It’s been a very proud four years both for the club and myself, so one needs to look at it globally. Each year was a challenge, a tough one for us to compete against teams who on paper look a lot stronger than us. But to keep ourselves away from relegation zone for that time - if we discount early weeks – that in itself will stick in my memory. There will be individual games.
"But what will stick in my memory is the pleasure coming to the training ground every day and working with these players. I’ve been well supported by the club’s owners and every member of staff but it’s been the pleasure working with these players every day that one will miss.
"I’m afraid when you step back from a club or football for a while and have been in it for as long as I have, it would be foolish to think there won’t be things you will miss. But of course there will be things I won’t miss, so hopefully those will balance out over time."
Football's impact over the last 45 years
"It’s given me an incredibly varied life and a very rich life which perhaps I wouldn’t have had if every month or year of my career was spent in my homeland. I’m very grateful for the opportunities given to me, in particular Sweden aged 28/29 to take charge of a top division club there. That’s the type of opportunity you’ve got to be very fortunate to get and isn’t coming up as often today as it once did.
"It set the tone for my career and meant I was never afraid or worried about an opportunity to go to Switzerland and then Italy and later Denmark, Norway and Finland. I never feared that because I know what it’s like living abroad.
"You’re too kind when you mention languages: they fade with lack of practice and I would need plenty of time in Sweden, Italy and Switzerland brushing up my languages. But it’s been nice to learn them and nice to boast that one day I could speak some."
The significance of managing England
"I think I said at the time when David Bernstein was kind enough to give me the opportunity: ‘This is the pinnacle of any career I could ever have dreamt of.’ Coaching and management has been my raison d’etre… when the chance came to manage England it was a present too good to be true.
"I can only hope my four years are seen with hindsight as a decent four years of work and a platform-laying of the big success I’m expecting England to have in the years to come."
The role of family
"It would be a very dishonest football manager who doesn’t pay tribute to the support and love he gets from his family and the enormous job they do in different moments. They’re the ones who know you best, can read you best and sometimes know what to say to you – to shake you out of black moods or shake you down sometimes.
"I’ve been extremely lucky; my wife and son never made demands of me. Chris was very young when I set off to South Africa and Sweden – he’s had to accept schooling and when he gets a little settled, taking off again.
"My wife in particular has backed my decisions – I’ve been lucky, most of my decisions have been good ones. But certainly some I’ve taken have taken her away from where she feels comfortable and is enjoying life to then start again. They back me up and like I do think it’s step aside and see what the future brings.
"I’m not talking about retirement because I’ve seen so many people with fanfare blazing about ‘my time to retire’ only to resurface in football later. I don’t want to do that. Most importantly I’m looking forward to spending time with my wife and son and maybe seeing what they want to do for once because that hasn’t happened very often in the last 50 years."
The outpouring of praise
"It meant more to me than anything. Gaining the respect of your peers, players and staff that you work with, I’ve worked with lots and had a lot of colleagues. At the end of your time working at a club or working career, if you have people prepared to say they’ve accepted you as a bona fide member of the football family and that your work is appreciated. That means an awful lot.
"Fanfares during a career can be very transitory. One moment, they’re lifting you onto a platform you don’t deserve to be on and others they’re trying to knock you down the platform too far. The respect of your colleagues and those you work with you take with you."
The final two matches: Arsenal and Liverpool
"They’re high profile matches and we’re playing two of the very best teams in the country - two traditionally up there in the top four or five, teams with fantastic tradition. This is the Premier League and I’ve enjoyed these four years in the Premier League so perhaps it’s right we’re trying to do our very best against teams once again who are on paper better than us at the start.
"We can roll up our sleeves and show that on our best days we can not only match them, we can beat them. That’s what I’m hoping will happen, but you don’t always get what you want in life.
"It’s a quirk of fate the government has allowed fans back in. There’s a bit of a paradox there – we’re talking about welcoming fans back and no sooner are they back am I waving goodbye. That’s a fact of the situation I shall happily deal with. I’m rather hoping the fans will a) enjoy the game, but more importantly appreciate the team.
"What this team has done over almost a season and a third [during the pandemic] and what they’ve done during that period has been well worthy of fans’ appreciation. It will be nice for players to be appreciated by fans and to see the fans back.
"Goodbyes have never been my forte. I’ve been much better at hellos. It risks being an emotional occasion and I’m not good on emotional occasions."
Managing his own time
"That’s something which I will have to learn. For quite a long time my life has been dictated in a military fashion. I know what time to get up and get home. That [not having the routine] will be new but my wife has had plenty of practice and she will teach me to do it. I’ll need to find some of her patience."
Telling the players
"Two and a half months of press conferences have given them a clue where I’ve been batting back questions and saying I’ll give my thoughts in my own time. I don’t think too many suddenly said: ‘Oh, my God, you’ve really caught us on the hop here.’ I did that deliberately.
"It would have been nice to give more notice – more time on a one to one basis and to thank them personally rather than globally as we did this morning.
"But I still have one or two chances to pull those people. The players found out just before you guys, when the statement fell. Most had a pretty good idea that: ‘It doesn’t look like we’re going to be working with Roy and Ray next year.’
"We’ve been so focused on the games and getting it right that we’ve really put the subject behind us, just like players out of contract have. They put it out of their minds and we’ve tried to be 100% professional and show 100% pride in our profession.
"We believe it’s important every time you take the field as a player or coach that you’ve got be giving it your 100% best and giving it your all. I think we’ve done that and really hope you’ll see that tomorrow night. We showed on Sunday what we’re capable of and tomorrow will be a wonderful occasion to show again."
Ray Lewington
"The time at Fulham, time at England and time here have been wonderfully profitable for me personally, working alongside him. He’s been incredible in everything. We’ve worked pretty much in tandem for a long, long period. He, Dean Kiely and Dave Reddington deserve a lot of cred for the preparation of our matches because they take in so much responsibility.
"Ray is a top class football person, a wonderful coach at the very, very highest level with incredible experience as a coach and manager. I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve been able to count on him alongside me because he’s been not only very helpful in advice and opinions, he’s been exceptional in the work on the training field with the players.
"That’s helped us become a better team and retain Premier League status which has been so important over the last four years."
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