On May 18, 2021, Hodgson announced that he would be leaving at the end of the season, having preserved Palace’s place in the league. Asked about retirement, he said, “I really am stepping away from football for a while, but who knows what the future will be?”.
Hodgson was appointed manager of his boyhood club, Crystal Palace, replacing Frank De Boer after signing a two-year contract with the South London club. He was tasked with managing a Palace side that had lost their four league games of the season without scoring a single goal.
Despite losing his first three games in charge, a turnaround in form meant he led Crystal Palace to safety and an 11th-place finish in the league. No team had previously survived relegation from the top flight after losing their first seven games.
Crystal Palace finished the 2018-2019 season on 49 points, equalling their best-ever total in a single Premier League campaign.