Mark Hughes facts for kids

This page is about the Welsh international footballer. For other people, see Mark Hughes (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids
Mark Hughes
OBE
Personal information
Hughes as manager of Stoke City in 2015
Full name	Leslie Mark Hughes
Date of birth	(1963-11-01) 1 November 1963 (age 61)
Place of birth	Ruabon, Wales
Height	5 feet 9 inches (1.74 m)
Playing position	Forward
Youth career
1978–1980	Manchester United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1980–1986	Manchester United	89	(37)
1986–1988	Barcelona	28	(4)
1987–1988	→ Bayern Munich (loan)	18	(6)
1988–1995	Manchester United	256	(83)
1995–1998	Chelsea	95	(25)
1998–2000	Southampton	52	(2)
2000	Everton	18	(1)
2000–2002	Blackburn Rovers	50	(6)
Total		606	(164)
National team
1984–1999	Wales	72	(16)
Teams managed
1999–2004	Wales
2004–2008	Blackburn Rovers
2008–2009	Manchester City
2010–2011	Fulham
2012	Queens Park Rangers
2013–2018	Stoke City
2018	Southampton
2022–2023	Bradford City
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a famous Welsh football coach and former player. People often call him "Sparky". He played mostly as a forward (striker) or a midfielder.

Mark Hughes played for many big clubs, including two times for Manchester United. He also played for Barcelona in Spain and Bayern Munich in Germany. In England, he played for Chelsea, Southampton, Everton, and Blackburn Rovers. He played 72 times for the Wales national team, scoring 16 goals.

During his playing career, he won many important trophies. These include two Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, and two UEFA Cup Winners' Cups. He was also the first player to win the PFA Players' Player of the Year award twice (in 1989 and 1991). He stopped playing football in 2002.

After retiring as a player, Mark Hughes became a football manager. He managed the Wales national team, and several Premier League clubs like Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Fulham, Queens Park Rangers, Stoke City, and Southampton. Most recently, he managed Bradford City.

Mark Hughes: A Football Journey

Mark Hughes had a long and successful career both as a player and a manager. He was known for his powerful shots and strong play.

Playing Career Highlights

Mark Hughes started his football journey in Wales. He joined Manchester United as a young player.

Starting at Manchester United

Mark Hughes was born in Ruabon, Wrexham. He joined Manchester United when he left school in 1980. He made his first team debut in the League Cup in the 1983–84 season, scoring a goal.

He quickly became a key player for United. In the 1984–85 season, he scored 25 goals. He helped Manchester United win the FA Cup that year. The team also finished fourth in the league. In the 1985–86 season, he scored 18 goals. This was his highest goal tally in a league season.

Time in Spain and Germany

In 1986, Hughes moved to Barcelona in Spain for £2 million. He played alongside Gary Lineker. However, he didn't score many goals there.

He was then loaned to Bayern Munich in Germany for the 1987–88 season. There, he started playing well again. A fun fact: on 11 November 1987, he played two matches in one day! First for Wales, then he flew to Germany to play as a substitute for Bayern Munich.

Returning to Manchester United

Hughes with Manchester United in 1991.

In May 1988, Mark Hughes returned to Manchester United. He was signed by manager Sir Alex Ferguson for £1.8 million. He became a very important goalscorer for the club for the next seven years.

In his first season back (1988–89), he was voted PFA Player of the Year. This award goes to the best player chosen by other players. He was the first Manchester United player to win it.

A year later, in 1990, he scored twice in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace. United won the replay, giving them their first major trophy in five years.

In 1991, Hughes scored both goals against his old club Barcelona in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final. United won 2–1. He was again their top scorer that season with 21 goals. He also won the PFA Player of the Year award for a second time. In 1992, United won the League Cup.

In 1993, Hughes finally won the Premier League title with Manchester United. He was the team's top scorer with 15 league goals. In 1994, United won both the league and the FA Cup. Hughes scored in the FA Cup final. He also scored in the League Cup final that season. This made him only the second player to score in both domestic cup finals in the same season. His partnership with Eric Cantona was very strong.

He left Manchester United for the second time in June 1995. He had scored 163 goals in total for the club over his two spells.

Playing for Chelsea

Hughes joined Chelsea in June 1995 for £1 million. He became a key player in Chelsea's success in the late 1990s. He formed a great partnership with Gianfranco Zola.

He helped Chelsea win the FA Cup in 1997. He also won the League Cup and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with Chelsea in 1998. By winning the FA Cup, he became the only player in the 20th century to win the trophy four times. He scored 39 goals in 123 matches for Chelsea.

Later Playing Years

In July 1998, Hughes moved to Southampton. He played as a midfielder there and helped the team stay in the Premier League. He then had short spells at Everton in 2000.

In October 2000, he joined Blackburn Rovers. He helped Blackburn get promoted from Division One in 2001. He also won the League Cup with Blackburn in February 2002. He stopped playing football in July 2002, just before his 39th birthday. His last career goal was against Leicester City in March 2002.

International Career

Mark Hughes scored just 17 minutes into his debut for Wales on 2 May 1984. He scored the winning goal against England. He played 72 times for his country and scored 16 goals.

Becoming a Manager

After his playing career, Mark Hughes became a respected football manager.

Managing Wales

Hughes became the head coach of the Wales in 1999, while he was still playing. He helped the team improve a lot. Wales came very close to qualifying for UEFA Euro 2004. They finished second in their group, even beating Italy 2–1. However, they lost in the play-offs to Russia.

Managing Blackburn Rovers

In September 2004, Hughes left the Wales job to manage Blackburn Rovers, his last club as a player. He helped them avoid relegation and reached an FA Cup semi-final.

In his second season, he guided Blackburn to sixth place in the Premier League. This meant they qualified for the UEFA Cup. He signed good players like Benni McCarthy and Roque Santa Cruz. Blackburn finished seventh in the Premier League in his final season there (2007–08).

Managing Manchester City

On 4 June 2008, Mark Hughes became the manager of Manchester City. Soon after, the club was taken over by a rich investment group. This meant Hughes had a lot of money to buy new players. He signed big names like Robinho for a record £32.5 million. He also brought in players like Wayne Bridge, Craig Bellamy, and Shay Given.

In the summer of 2009, he signed more stars like Gareth Barry, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Touré, and Carlos Tevez. Manchester City started the 2009–10 season very well. However, after a run of seven draws, Hughes was sacked on 19 December 2009.

Managing Fulham

Hughes became the manager of Fulham on 29 July 2010. He signed a two-year contract. He led Fulham to an eighth-place finish in the league in the 2010–11 season. This also helped them qualify for the UEFA Europa League. He resigned from Fulham in June 2011.

Managing Queens Park Rangers

On 10 January 2012, Hughes became the new manager of Queens Park Rangers (QPR). He helped them avoid relegation from the Premier League in the 2011–12 season. This was a dramatic achievement on the final day of the season.

In the summer of 2012, QPR signed many new high-profile players. However, the team had a very bad start to the 2012–13 season, going 12 matches without a win. Hughes was sacked on 23 November 2012.

Managing Stoke City

Hughes was appointed manager of Stoke City on 30 May 2013. He signed a three-year contract. He helped Stoke finish in ninth place in the Premier League for three seasons in a row (2013–14, 2014–15, and 2015–16). This was Stoke's best finish since 1974–75.

He brought in players like Erik Pieters, Marko Arnautović, Bojan, and Xherdan Shaqiri. Stoke's style of play was often praised during this time.

However, in the 2016–17 season, Stoke finished 13th. The 2017–18 season started poorly, and Stoke was in the relegation zone. After an FA Cup defeat to a lower league team, Coventry City, Hughes was sacked on 6 January 2018.

Managing Southampton

On 14 March 2018, Hughes took over as manager of Southampton. The club was in danger of relegation. He helped them stay in the Premier League at the end of the 2017–18 season. He then signed a new three-year contract. However, after a poor start to the 2018–19 season, he was dismissed in December 2018.

Managing Bradford City

On 24 February 2022, Hughes was appointed manager of Bradford City. This was his first time managing a club outside the Premier League. He was nominated for the League Two Manager of the Month award in September 2022. However, he was sacked on 4 October 2023, with Bradford in 18th place in League Two.

Personal Life

Mark Hughes is known by his nickname "Sparky". He grew up supporting Wrexham. He was awarded an OBE in 2004 for his services to football. He is married to Jill and they have two sons, Alex and Curtis, and a daughter, Xenna, who plays hockey for Wales. He wrote his autobiography in 1990 called Sparky – Barcelona, Bayern and Back.

Honours

Player

Manchester United

Premier League: 1992–93, 1993–94
FA Cup: 1984–85, 1989–90, 1993–94
Football League Cup: 1991–92
FA Charity Shield: 1990 (shared), 1993, 1994
European Cup Winners' Cup: 1990–91
European Super Cup: 1991

Chelsea

FA Cup: 1996–97
Football League Cup: 1997–98
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1997–98

Blackburn Rovers

Football League Cup: 2001–02
Football League First Division runner-up: 2000–01

Individual Awards

PFA Young Player of the Year: 1984–85
PFA Players' Player of the Year: 1988–89, 1990–91
PFA First Division Team of the Year: 1985–86, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92
Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year: 1990–91
Welsh Footballer of the Year: 1993, 1994
Chelsea Player of the Year: 1996–97
Inducted into English Football Hall of Fame
BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year: 2002

Manager