Club career

Manchester United

Born in Ruabon, Wrexham, Hughes joined Manchester United after leaving school in the summer of 1980, having been spotted by the team's North Wales talent scout Hugh Roberts. However he did not make his first team debut for three years — in a 1-1 draw away to Oxford United in the League Cup, in the 1983-84 season.

When Hughes made his United debut, the club's forward partnership consisted of 27-year-old Irishman Frank Stapleton and 18-year-old Norman Whiteside from Northern Ireland, and breaking up that partnership would not be an easy challenge for Hughes. But Hughes quickly broke into the first team, partnering Frank Stapleton in attack while Norman Whiteside was switched to midfield to partner Ray Wilkins and stand in for the injury prone Remi Moses. The departure of Wilkins to AC Milan at the end of the season saw manager Ron Atkinson decide to stick to using Whiteside in the centre of midfield, enabling Hughes to keep his place in the first team ahead of new signing Alan Brazil, and he was rewarded handsomely as he scored 25 goals in 55 games in all competitions as United achieved an FA Cup final victory over Everton. They also finished fourth in the league.

He managed a further 20 goals in the 1985-86 season, where they led until February having won their first 10 league games of the season, before a dismal second half of the season saw them slip into fourth place in the final table. That season saw him score 17 goals in the Football League First Division - it would remain the highest goals tally in a season throughout his career.

Barcelona

In the summer of 1986, Hughes was surprisingly sold to Barcelona for £2 million. United announced on 21 March 1986 that Hughes would be heading for Spain at the end of the season, but the transfer had been agreed many weeks earlier.

Manager Terry Venables signed Hughes at the same time that he signed Gary Lineker from Everton to form a new strike partnership at the Nou Camp, but Hughes was a disappointment in his only season at Barcelona, whereas Lineker did well in three seasons there.

Bayern Munich (loan)

He was subsequently loaned out to German club Bayern Munich for the 1987-88 season, where he regained his form. On 11 November 1987 he played two competitive matches in one day: firstly he played for Wales against Czechoslovakia in Prague in a Euro 88 qualifier, and he was then driven across the border into Germany to come on as a substitute for Bayern in their 2nd round cup replay victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Hughes was one of many British players who departed to the continent during the mid-1980s to early 1990s, as higher wages, coupled with the opportunity of playing in European competitions after English clubs were barred as a result of the Heysel disaster in 1985, tempted them abroad.

Return to Manchester United

In May 1988, Hughes returned to Manchester United, now managed by Alex Ferguson, for a then club record of £1.8 million. As he had done in his first spell at Old Trafford, Hughes proved to be a dynamic goalscorer and was a key player for the club over the next seven years. Alex Ferguson had been keen on re-signing Hughes for United soon after becoming manager in November 1986, but Hughes would have had been liable for taxation on money earned playing overseas if he had returned to England before April 1988.

He was voted PFA Player of the Year in 1988-89, his first season back in England, though United disappointed in the league and finished 11th after an erratic season which had seen them go 10 league games without a win in the autumn but then go on a strong run after the turn of the new year to lift them to third place, only for a late season collapse to drag them down to mid table. He was the very first Manchester United player to be credited with that award despite the accolade being in its 16th season. He was also United's joint top scorer that season, along with Brian McClair, on 16 goals.

A year later, he scored twice as United drew 3-3 with Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final, before a Lee Martin goal in the replay gave United their first major trophy in five years. He was United's top goalscorer that season, scoring 15 goals in all competitions. 13 of his goals had come in the league, where United finished a disappointing 13th. He scored his second United hat-trick in a September clash against Millwall in the league at Old Trafford, which United won 5-1.

The following season, Hughes scored both goals against old club Barcelona as United lifted the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, winning the final 2-1 in Rotterdam. Once again, he was their top scorer, this time with 21 goals in all competitions, although his tally in the league was bettered by Brian McClair and Steve Bruce. They also reached the Football League Cup final that year, but United suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to a Sheffield Wednesday side managed by Ron Atkinson, who had been Hughes's manager in his first spell at Old Trafford. He was also voted PFA Player of the Year again this season. 1990-91 also saw Hughes score the last of his three hat-tricks for United, in a League Cup quarter-final replay against Southampton at Old Trafford, which United won 3-2.

In 1991-92, Hughes suffered the disappointment of missing out on a league title medal as United were pipped to the title by Leeds United, but had some compensation in the form of a League Cup winner's medal. He found the net 11 times in the league and 14 times in all competitions.

A year after that, he finally collected an English league title medal as United won the first-ever Premier League title, and was United's top scorer with 15 goals in the league and a further goal in the League Cup. From December, he mostly played alongside new signing Eric Cantona in attack, with Brian McClair being switched to the centre of midfield.

Hughes collected yet more silverware in 1994 as United won the league title as well as the FA Cup, with Hughes scoring in the final. He also scored Manchester United's consolation goal in their 3-1 defeat in the 1994 League Cup Final at the hands of Aston Villa at Wembley in that season. In doing this, he became only the second player (after Norman Whiteside in 1983) to score in the finals of both the domestic cups in the same season. This has since been achieved a third time by Didier Drogba in 2007. His partnership with Cantona in attack also went from strength to strength, as he found the net 22 times in all competitions and Cantona scored 25 goals.

Hughes came close to winning both the Premier League and FA Cup again in 1995, but a failure to beat West Ham on the final day of the season and the inability to score an equaliser against Everton in the FA Cup final a year later condemned United to their first trophyless season in six years. The FA Cup final was his last game in a United shirt. He had scored eight goals that season and 12 in all competitions. During two spells at the club, he had found the net a total of 163 times (116 of his goals coming during his second spell). Perhaps the most memorable of those goals came in April 1994, when he scored a spectacular equaliser in the final minute of extra time in the FA Cup semi-final against Oldham Athletic at Wembley, a goal which has been described by many as one of the finest ever scored by any Manchester United player.

1994-95 was Hughes's last season at United as he agreed to join Chelsea in a surprise £1.5 million deal after the end of that season. There had been speculation about his future at United since before Christmas, as United were linked with a move for Andy Cole or Stan Collymore. Cole was signed by United in January, just as new Everton manager Joe Royle was reported to be preparing a £2.5million bid to sign Hughes. But then came a knee injury in a match at Newcastle, which ruled Hughes out for several games, and during his absence he was given a lifeline in the first team after Eric Cantona received an eight-month ban for assaulting a spectator against Crystal Palace. There was also talk that Cantona would be on his way out of Old Trafford, as Inter Milan were interested in signing him, but when Cantona signed a new three-year contract near the season's end, Hughes knew that Cantona was likely to be straight back in the side after his suspension finished on 30 September 1995, and knew that his best chance of first-team football would be away from Old Trafford.

Hughes scored eight league goals in 1994-95 (two of them in the 9-0 demolition of Ipswich Town at Old Trafford on 4 March 1995) and managed a total of 12 in all competitions (two in the FA Cup and another two in the European Cup).

By the time of his departure from Manchester United, he was the last player at the club to have been there before the appointment of Alex Ferguson as manager in November 1986.

Chelsea

He left Old Trafford for the second and final time in June 1995 when he was sold to Chelsea for £1 million, in a summer that also saw the departures of players such as Paul Ince (to Internazionale) and Andrei Kanchelskis (to Everton). Ironically, Hughes scored for Chelsea in both of their Premier League fixtures against Manchester United in 1995-96; a 4-1 win for United at Stamford Bridge in October and a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in early December. He was on the losing side as United beat Chelsea 2-1 in the FA Cup semi-final that season, less than two years after he had scored one of United's goals in their FA Cup final triumph over Chelsea.

Hughes was one of the key players in Chelsea's resurgence as a top club in the late 1990s, forming an potent strike partnership with Gianfranco Zola and helping to freeze out Gianluca Vialli (who became the club's player-manager in February 1998). He put in match-winning performances against Liverpool and Wimbledon in the FA Cup in 1997, and Vicenza in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup a year later, playing a big part in Chelsea's glory in both of these competitions. In winning the FA Cup, he became the only player in the 20th century to win the trophy four times. He ended his Chelsea career with 39 goals from 123 games and was transferred to Southampton for £650,000 in July 1998.

Southampton

In July 1998, Hughes was signed by Southampton for a fee of £650,000 by manager Dave Jones, as an alternative to injury-plagued David Hirst, who retired within 18 months of Hughes's arrival. Unfortunately, the goals failed to flow and Hughes was pushed back into midfield where his experience helped Southampton maintain their Premier League status.

His two goals for Southampton came against Blackburn Rovers, who he was later to join, and a "memorable volley" at home to Newcastle United on 15 August 1999. Hughes suffered with disciplinary problems throughout his career, and in his first season at The Dell he received 14 yellow cards, a total which has never been exceeded in the Premier League.

Everton

When Glenn Hoddle arrived as Southampton's manager in January 2000, Hughes did not fit into his plans and he left for Everton in March 2000. He played 16 times over the course of seven months seasons for Everton, scoring his only goal against Watford.

Blackburn Rovers

Hughes left Goodison Park on a free transfer for Blackburn Rovers in October 2001, moving outside the top division for the first time in his playing career in 2000-01. He played a key role in getting Blackburn promoted from Division One in 2001. He also lifted the League Cup with Blackburn in February 2002, before finally hanging up his boots in July 2002 a few months short of his 39th birthday.

His final career goal came in a 2-1 Premier League defeat to Leicester City on 9 April 2002. At the time, he was the second oldest player to score in the Premier League, behind Stuart Pearce. Almost a decade on he is still ranked as third in this category following goals by Teddy Sheringham, who scored his final Premier League goal in December 2006 at the age of 40.

International career

He scored just 17 minutes into his Welsh debut, netting the winning goal against England on 2 May 1984. He went on to play 72 times for his country, scoring 16 times.

Managerial career

Wales

Hughes was appointed Welsh national coach in 1999. Initially appointed on a temporary basis alongside Neville Southall to replace Bobby Gould, Hughes had soon done enough to earn himself a long-term contract, with Southall eventually leaving the set-up. When he had taken over Wales were going through a bad patch, but in the five years with Hughes in charge Wales came close to qualifying for Euro 2004. In their Euro 2004 qualifying group Wales ended up second, beating Italy 2-1 in Cardiff in the process, but was denied a place in the final tournament after losing to Russia in the playoffs.

Blackburn Rovers

Hughes quit the Welsh national side in September 2004 to take charge of Blackburn Rovers in the FA Premier League, the last club he had played for. His key aim was to keep Blackburn clear of relegation, which he succeeded in doing, whilst also taking the club to an FA Cup semi-final for the first time in over 40 years.

In his second season, Blackburn surprised even the most optimistic supporters by finishing inside the top six of the Premier League and qualifying for the UEFA Cup, beating teams such as Chelsea, Manchester United (twice) and Arsenal along the way. After just missing out on the League Cup final, his team sealed their spot in Europe by defeating champions Chelsea 1-0 at home. On 4 May 2006, Hughes and assistant Mark Bowen signed new three-year contracts to remain at Blackburn until the summer of 2009.

Hughes then set about creating a formidable side at Ewood Park. He entered the transfer market, bringing in players such as Benni McCarthy (£2 million), David Bentley (£500,000), Ryan Nelsen (free), Stephen Warnock (£1.5 million), Roque Santa Cruz (£3.5 million), and Christopher Samba (£400,000). Rovers finished 10th in the Premier League in 2006-07, and reached the UEFA Cup round of 32, where they were knocked out by Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 on aggregate. Rovers faced Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final, their third consecutive semi-final since Hughes took charge. The match ended in defeat 2-1. He won the Premier League Manager of the Month award for October 2007, and eventually led Blackburn to a league finish of 7th in 2007-08, Hughes's final season in charge at Ewood Park.

During his spell in charge of Blackburn, Hughes's side was accused of being "over-physical" and "dirty" on multiple occasions and the club finished bottom of the Premier League disciplinary table in all four of Hughes's seasons in charge.

Manchester City

On 2 June 2008, Manchester City sacked manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. Hughes was reported to be the first choice of City owner Thaksin Shinawatra to replace Eriksson. However, interest was also reported from Chelsea, who had recently sacked their manager, Avram Grant. Blackburn Rovers confirmed on 2 June that they had agreed to allow Hughes to talk to Manchester City. The following day, Blackburn agreed to a then-world record compensation package for Hughes to take over as manager of Manchester City, and he was appointed as head coach on 4 June 2008 on a three-year contract.

Following the appointment, Manchester City's executive chairman Garry Cook stated that "The Club intends to invest in new players as well as securing the long term services of key members of the current first team squad. Mark has already identified some of the players and backroom staff that he wants to see here at City, and we will begin the process of recruiting them immediately." The players who did arrive were Jo, Tal Ben Haim, Vincent Kompany, Shaun Wright-Phillips returning from Chelsea and Pablo Zabaleta. Hughes's first game in charge resulted in a 4-2 loss at Villa Park but was followed up with 3-0 wins against West Ham United and Sunderland.

On 1 September 2008 Manchester City were taken over by the Abu Dhabi United investment group, who made large amounts of transfer funds available to Hughes, allowing City to break the British transfer record and sign Robinho from Real Madrid for £32.5 million. Hughes was very active in the January 2009 transfer window, signing Wayne Bridge from Chelsea, Craig Bellamy from West Ham United, and Shay Given from Newcastle United, as well as Nigel de Jong from Hamburg. City finished 10th in Hughes's first season with the club, as well as reaching the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. City's home form was among the best in the league, but their away form was among the worst.

In the summer of 2009, Hughes added the likes of Gareth Barry from Aston Villa, Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn Rovers, Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Touré from Arsenal to his squad, while Carlos Tevez also joined after his two-year deal with Manchester United expired. In addition, he also signed defenders Joleon Lescott from Everton for a reported £22 million, and Sylvinho, a former Arsenal and double Champions League winner with Barcelona, on a free transfer.

Hughes started the 2009-10 campaign with a 2-0 away win at his former club Blackburn Rovers. A further 1-0 win against another former club Barcelona in the Joan Gamper Trophy at a capacity Camp Nou. was followed up by a 1-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Eastlands. Hughes's team then beat Crystal Palace in the League Cup 2-0 and Portsmouth 1-0 to maintain a 100% clean sheet start to the season. City continued in good form, beating Arsenal 4-2 and West Ham 3-1 either side of a 4-3 derby day defeat to Manchester United. City would then, however, go on a run of seven straight draws.

Manchester City beat Scunthorpe United 5-1 and Arsenal 3-0 in the League Cup to reach their first semi-final since 1981. Hughes then led City to their first victory over his former club Chelsea for five years with a 2-1 victory. That last victory was one of only two wins in eleven successive Premier League matches, and Hughes left City before their League Cup two-legged semi-final against Manchester United. He was sacked on 19 December 2009 and replaced by Roberto Mancini.

Fulham

On 29 July 2010, Hughes became the new manager of Fulham, following the departure of Roy Hodgson to Liverpool. Hughes agreed a two-year contract with the London side and was officially unveiled to the media on 3 August 2010, before his first game as manager on 7 August against Werder Bremen. Hughes was joined at Fulham by his backroom team of Eddie Niedzwiecki, Mark Bowen and Kevin Hitchcock. His first league game in charge of the Cottagers came exactly a week later, when they drew 0-0 at Bolton Wanderers on the opening day of the Premier League season, followed by a resolute display against Manchester United in a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage.

Draws followed in four of Fulham's next five Premier League games against Blackpool, Blackburn Rovers, Everton and West Ham United, with a solitary 2-1 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. This meant that at that stage - including the 7-draw streak at Manchester City before his dismissal the season before - all but two (86%) of Hughes' last fifteen Premiership games had been drawn. The bizarre run, exclusively made up of draws or 2-1 results, continued with 2-1 defeats to Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion in the second half of October 2010. At the end of the 2010-2011 season, Hughes led Fulham to an 8th-placed finish in the league and UEFA Europa League qualification through the Fair Play league.

Hughes resigned as manager of Fulham on 2 June 2011, having spent less than 11 months at the club. Following his departure, he said, "As a young, ambitious manager I wish to move on to further my experiences". Fulham owner Mohamed Al-Fayed hit back at Hughes for questioning the club's ambition; Al Fayed called Hughes a "strange man" and a "flop" and says he rescued him from becoming a forgotten man after being sacked by Manchester City. In September 2013, Hughes admitted he made a mistake in leaving Fulham when he did.

Queens Park Rangers

On 10 January 2012, Hughes agreed terms with Queens Park Rangers and signed a two-and-a-half-year contract as their new manager, replacing the recently sacked Neil Warnock. Hughes's first game in charge of QPR came on 15 January 2012, a 1-0 defeat away to Newcastle United. Hughes's first win as QPR manager came on 17 January 2012, a 1-0 victory over MK Dons in a FA Cup third round replay at Loftus Road. His first Premier League victory was on 21 January 2012, QPR beating Wigan 3-1 at home.

In January 2012, Hughes brought in two defenders Nedum Onuoha and Taye Taiwo and two strikers, Djibril Cissé and Bobby Zamora. Cissé made an immediate impact scoring on his debut against Aston Villa. However defeats against Wolves, Blackburn and Fulham prevented QPR from pulling themselves away from relegation trouble. Victories over Liverpool, Arsenal, Stoke City, Swansea City and Tottenham Hotspur meant that they went into the final match of the season two points ahead of Bolton Wanderers. They faced Hughes's former club Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium who needed a win to secure the Premier League title. Despite scoring twice through Cissé and Jamie Mackie two late goals from Edin Džeko and Sergio Agüero earned Man City a dramatic victory. However Bolton's failure to beat Stoke meant that QPR survived in the Premier League.

In the summer of 2012 QPR brought a large number of high-profile signings with the intent of establishing themselves as a Premier League club. In came Kieron Dyer, Ryan Nelsen, Andrew Johnson, Robert Green, Samba Diakité, Fábio, Park Ji-Sung and Junior Hoilett all before the start of the season. However Rangers's new look squad got off to an awful start as they crashed to a 5-0 home defeat against Swansea City on the opening day of the season. Hughes branded his players performance as "embarrassing". Hughes then signed José Bosingwa, Júlio César and Esteban Granero but saw no improvement in results going twelve matches without victory. He was sacked as manager on 23 November 2012 after the team suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Southampton six days earlier and replaced by Harry Redknapp.

Stoke City

2013-14

Hughes was appointed manager of Stoke City on 30 May 2013 signing a three-year contract taking over from fellow Welshman Tony Pulis. Speaking after being announced as Stoke's new manager, Hughes admitted that he had a point to prove following his disappointing spell at QPR. Hughes's first task was to release Rory Delap, Mamady Sidibe, Matthew Upson, Dean Whitehead, Carlo Nash and Matty Lund, at the same time giving Jermaine Pennant a new contract. He made his first signing on 28 June 2013 with Dutch international left-back Erik Pieters arriving from PSV Eindhoven for a fee of €3.6 million (£3 million). Hughes's first match in charge of Stoke on 17 August 2013 ended in a 1-0 defeat at Liverpool. Hughes's first win as Stoke manager came in his next match as Stoke beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at the Britannia Stadium. This was followed up by a 1-0 win away at West Ham United. On 2 September 2013, transfer deadline day Hughes brought in Austrian forward Marko Arnautović from Werder Bremen and Stephen Ireland on loan from Aston Villa. Meanwhile, Michael Kightly, Cameron Jerome and Ryan Shotton all departed the club on long-term loans.

Stoke soon lost their early form however and they went through September and October without a league win, picking up just two points and scoring only three goals. Stoke improved in November and December going a run of one defeat in seven matches including a 3-2 win over Chelsea on 7 December 2013. December ended badly for Stoke and Hughes though as they were on the receiving end of a 5-1 defeat at Newcastle United in which Stoke were reduced to nine men and Hughes himself was sent off. Stoke went through January 2014 in poor form and managed to pick up just a point and a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland on 29 January left Stoke just above the relegation zone. The one piece of transfer activity Hughes did was to swap Kenwyne Jones for Peter Odemwingie in a player-exchange deal with Cardiff City. The arrival of Odemwingie enabled Hughes to alter his tactics and formation and it immediately paid off with a 2-1 victory over Manchester United. Stoke's form continued to improve and they went through March unbeaten with wins over Arsenal, West Ham United, Aston Villa and Hull City. Stoke proceeded to end the season strongly with wins over Newcastle United, Fulham and a 2-1 win against West Bromwich Albion on the final day of the season saw Stoke finish in 9th position, their best finish since 1974-75.

2014-15

For the 2014-15 season Hughes signed Sunderland full-back Phil Bardsley, Fulham midfielder Steve Sidwell and Senegalese striker Mame Biram Diouf on free transfers. Also arriving for small fees were Slovakian defender Dionatan Teixeira and Barcelona forward Bojan Krkić whilst wingers Victor Moses and Oussama Assaidi joined on season-long loans. Departing the club were Matthew Etherington, Michael Kightly, Cameron Jerome and Ryan Shotton. Stoke had a mixed start to the 2014-15 season as they lost 1-0 to Aston Villa on the opening day, drew 1-1 with 10-men Hull City and then beat the reigning Premier League champions, Manchester City 1-0. Stoke's inconsistency continued through the autumn as Stoke managed just three wins beating Newcastle United, Swansea City and Tottenham Hotspur. Whilst suffering frustrating home defeats against newly promoted Burnley and Leicester City. Stoke found form in December beating Arsenal 3-2, Everton 1-0 and West Bromwich Albion 2-0.

In January 2015 Hughes began talks with the Stoke board about extending his contract with the club. Hughes only new arrival in January was that of German centre back Philipp Wollscheid from Bayer Leverkusen. Stoke suffered a number in injuries to key players in January and February most notably to Shawcross and Bojan. In February Stoke suffered back to back 4-1 defeats against Manchester City and then in the FA Cup against Blackburn Rovers. Hughes signed a new contract with Stoke in March 2015, keeping him contracted at Stoke until the summer of 2019. City then went a run of three wins against Aston Villa, Hull City and Everton and then three defeats against West Bromwich Albion, Crystal Palace and Chelsea. Stoke ended the season strongly with victories over Southampton (2-1), Tottenham Hotspur (3-0) and Liverpool (6-1) ensuring a second consecutive 9th-place finish.

2015-16

Hughes made a number of alterations to his squad in preparation for the 2015-16 campaign. Leaving the club were the long-serving trio of Asmir Begović, Robert Huth and Steven N'Zonzi with Stoke receiving their record transfer fee in the process. With the money available Hughes broke Stoke's transfer record paying Inter Milan £12 million for Swiss winger Xherdan Shaqiri. He also brought in Spanish striker Joselu for £5.75 million, Dutch midfielder Ibrahim Afellay, Shay Given, Jakob Haugaard, Glen Johnson and Marco van Ginkel.

Stoke made a poor start to the season as they failed to win any of their first six fixtures, losing three of them. Stoke recovered well from this set back winning their next three matches against Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Swansea City. Stoke's improvement continued through November and December with victories against Premier League champions Chelsea, Southampton, Manchester City and Manchester United with the style of football being played by Hughes' team being praised by the national press. Stoke ended 2015 with a dramatic 4-3 win away at Everton, whilst they also reached the semi-final of the League Cup after getting past Luton Town, Fulham, Chelsea and Sheffield Wednesday.

Stoke made a poor start to 2016 as they were beaten by West Bromwich Albion and then by Liverpool in the 1st leg of the League Cup semi-final. Stoke then endured a tough final week of January as they lost 3-0 to both Leicester and Manchester United and were knocked out of the League Cup by Liverpool after losing on penalties and were also ousted from the FA Cup by Crystal Palace. In the January transfer window Hughes let Steve Sidwell leave as well as cutting short Marco van Ginkel's loan whilst he broke the club's transfer record he set in the summer after signing French midfielder Giannelli Imbula from Porto for a fee of £18.3 million. Stoke's form improved in February and March as they defeated Bournemouth, Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Watford and earned a first Premier League draw at Chelsea. However following a season ending injury to Jack Butland whilst on international duty, Stoke lost their defensive organisation. They let a 2-0 lead slip against Swansea City to draw 2-2 and then went and conceded four goals in three successive matches, against Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. Hughes' team were able to end the season on a positive as they beat West Ham United 2-1, on the final day of the season to secure a third consecutive ninth place finish.

Personal life

Throughout his career Hughes has been known by the nickname "Sparky" which he took from the comic of the same name. Hughes grew up supporting his hometown club, Wrexham. He was awarded an OBE in 2004. Hughes has two sons Alex and Curtis and a daughter, Xenna. Hughes wrote his autobiography in 1990 entitled "Sparky - Barcelona, Bayern and Back".

Career statistics

Club

Sources:

Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester United	1983-84	First Division	11	4	0	0	2	1	4	0	0	0	17	5
	1984-85	First Division	38	16	7	3	2	3	8	2	0	0	55	24
	1985-86	First Division	40	17	3	1	2	0	0	0	4	0	49	18
	Total		89	37	10	4	6	4	12	2	4	0	121	47
Barcelona	1986-87	La Liga	28	4	2	0	—		7	1	0	0	36	5
	Total		28	4	2	0	—		7	1	0	0	36	5
Bayern Munich	1987-88	Bundesliga	18	6	3	1	—		2	0	0	0	23	7
	Total		18	6	3	1	—		2	0	0	0	23	7
Manchester United	1988-89	First Division	38	14	7	2	3	0	0	0	3	0	51	16
	1989-90	First Division	37	13	8	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	48	15
	1990-91	First Division	31	10	3	2	9	6	8	3	1	0	52	21
	1991-92	First Division	39	11	3	1	6	0	4	2	1	0	53	14
	1992-93	Premier League	41	15	2	0	3	1	2	0	0	0	48	16
	1993-94	Premier League	36	12	7	4	8	5	2	0	1	1	54	22
	1994-95	Premier League	34	8	6	2	0	0	5	2	1	0	47	12
	Total		256	83	36	13	32	12	21	7	7	1	352	116
Chelsea	1995-96	Premier League	31	8	6	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	39	12
	1996-97	Premier League	35	8	7	5	2	1	0	0	0	0	44	14
	1997-98	Premier League	29	9	1	0	6	2	3	1	1	1	40	13
	Total		95	25	14	9	10	3	3	1	1	1	123	39
Southampton	1998-99	Premier League	32	1	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	36	1
	1999-2000	Premier League	20	1	2	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	25	1
	Total		52	2	4	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	61	2
Everton	1999-2000	Premier League	9	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	1
	2000-01	Premier League	9	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
	Total		18	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	19	1
Blackburn Rovers	2000-01	First Division	29	5	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	34	5
	2001-02	Premier League	21	1	3	0	6	1	0	0	0	0	30	2
	Total		50	6	8	0	6	1	0	0	0	0	64	7
Career total			606	164	77	27	60	20	45	11	12	2	799	224

A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the European Super Cup, FA Charity Shield, Mercantile Credit Centenary Trophy and Screen Sport Super Cup.

International

Sources:

Wales national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1984	5	3
1985	6	3
1986	1	0
1987	5	1
1988	5	1
1989	5	0
1990	4	1
1991	7	0
1992	8	1
1993	6	2
1994	3	0
1995	3	0
1996	5	4
1997	3	0
1998	3	0
1999	3	0
Total	72	16

International goals

Scores and results list Wales' goal tally first.

Mark Hughes - goals for Wales
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2 May 1984	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham	England	1-0	1-0	1984 British Home Championship
2	22 May 1984	Vetch Field, Swansea	Northern Ireland	1-0	1-1	1984 British Home Championship
3	14 November 1984	Ninian Park, Cardiff	Iceland	2-1	2-1	1986 World Cup qualifier
4	30 April 1985	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham	Spain	2-0	3-0	1986 World Cup qualifier
5	5 June 1985	Brann Stadion, Bergen	Norway	2-4	2-4	Friendly
6	10 September 1985	Ninian Park, Cardiff	Scotland	1-0	1-1	1986 World Cup qualifier
7	9 September 1987	Ninian Park, Cardiff	Denmark	1-0	1-0	Euro 1988 qualifier
8	1 June 1988	Ta' Qali National Stadium, Valletta	Malta	2-2	3-2	Friendly
9	17 October 1990	Ninian Park, Cardiff	Belgium	3-1	3-1	Euro 1992 qualifier
10	14 October 1992	Tsirion Stadium, Limassol	Cyprus	1-0	1-0	1994 World Cup qualifier
11	17 February 1993	Tolka Park, Dublin	Republic of Ireland	1-0	1-2	Friendly
12	28 April 1993	Bazaly, Ostrava	Czechoslovakia	1-0	1-1	Friendly
13	2 June 1996	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle	San Marino	2-0	5-0	1998 World Cup qualifier
14				3-0
15	31 August 1996	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	San Marino	2-0	6-0	1998 World Cup qualifier
16				5-0

Managerial statistics

As of match played 15 May 2016.

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record					Ref
			P	W	D	L	Win %
Wales	3 August 1999	13 October 2004	7001410000000000000♠41	7001120000000000000♠12	7001150000000000000♠15	7001140000000000000♠14	7001293000000000000♠29.3
Blackburn Rovers	15 September 2004	4 June 2008	7002188000000000000♠188	7001820000000000000♠82	7001470000000000000♠47	7001590000000000000♠59	7001436000000000000♠43.6
Manchester City	4 June 2008	19 December 2009	7001770000000000000♠77	7001360000000000000♠36	7001160000000000000♠16	7001250000000000000♠25	7001468000000000000♠46.8
Fulham	29 July 2010	2 June 2011	7001430000000000000♠43	7001140000000000000♠14	7001160000000000000♠16	7001130000000000000♠13	7001326000000000000♠32.6
Queens Park Rangers	10 January 2012	23 November 2012	7001340000000000000♠34	7000800000000000000♠8	7000600000000000000♠6	7001200000000000000♠20	7001235000000000000♠23.5
Stoke City	30 May 2013	Present	7002134000000000000♠134	7001530000000000000♠53	7001320000000000000♠32	7001490000000000000♠49	7001396000000000000♠39.6
Total			7002517000000000000♠517	7002205000000000000♠205	7002132000000000000♠132	7002180000000000000♠180	7001397000000000000♠39.7	—

Honours

Club

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
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1990-91
• UEFA 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

• PFA Young Player of the Year: 1984-85
• PFA Players' Player of the Year: 1988-89, 1990-91
• Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year: 1990-91
• Chelsea F.C. Player of the Year: 1996-97
• Inducted into English Football Hall of Fame

[ Source: Wikipedia ]