Man Utd legend says he ‘didn’t appreciate’ Fergie’s ruthless decision

Joe Williams
Former Man Utd boss Sir Alex Ferguson scrunches his face

Man Utd legend Mark Hughes admits it took him years to make peace with Sir Alex Ferguson’s decision to sell him to Chelsea.

Hughes scored 47 goals in 121 appearances for the Red Devils before moving to Barcelona for a season in 1986.

The former Wales international then spent a season with Bayern Munich before returning to Man Utd in 1988, where he spent another seven campaigns.

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With Hughes aged 31, Ferguson decided he needed to replace him and sold him to Chelsea in 1995 as he built a new strike partnership between Andy Cole and Eric Cantona.

On Ferguson’s decision, Hughes told the Daily Mail: “Sir Alex wanted to get good value, take the best years and sell for a profit. From his point of view it was good management. I didn’t appreciate it at the time but looking back I would have done exactly the same thing.

“My relationship with Sir Alex as a player was ‘just enough’. Then as I got older and became a manager I became closer to him and understood the decisions he made because I faced them as well.

“He was aware of a bid from Chelsea and didn’t try to block it. It was a message for me to move on and that was difficult because I’d spent the majority of my life at United.

“But in fairness to Sir Alex, he sent me a letter a month afterwards thanking me for my efforts at the club and the good times. I still have that letter. I saw him recently at Walter Smith’s memorial and enjoyed his company.”

Hughes was one of the most important players in Ferguson’s early years at Old Trafford with the Welshman top scorer as Sir Alex won his first of 13 Premier League titles at Man Utd.

The former Man Utd striker added: “Our first meeting was when he picked me up from the airport before I signed. We had a chat in the car and he outlined what he felt the club needed. He had a presence.

“The only time I remember fearing for his future was the game at Forest. My memory was United fans turning up in their thousands as if they were saying “Don’t tell us what should happen, we are behind the manager and the team”.

“Sir Alex was always very good at rounding the wagons and making it feel like an ‘us against them’ situation.

“He put the right characters and leaders in the team. There was an expectation we would sort things on the pitch if needed, something lacking in this day and age.

“Unlike old school managers, he embraced new things when the game started changing. He had an ability to engage with people and make it fun but was clever in realising a club like United was too big for one man to do it all.

“He was able to delegate and get quality people in areas like sports science. Other managers couldn’t give up that control.”

 

Manchester United Mark Hughes

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