Man Utd legend ‘did not admire’ Sir Alex Ferguson’s Chelsea resolution – however does now

Manchester United legend Mark Hughes wasn’t happy when he was sold to rivals Chelsea, but kept a letter sent to him by Sir Alex Ferguson after the transfer was completed.

The Red Devils forked out a then club record £1.8million to re-sign Hughes from Barcelona in 1988. The Welsh forward went on to become a key figure in helping United dominate English football in the years that followed.

Not only did he set up a famous FA Cup third round winner, scored by striker Mark Robins which is often credited with saving Ferguson’s job at Old Trafford, he was a pivotal part of Ferguson’s side in the early 1990s. He won two Premier League titles, three FA Cups and the League Cup at Old Trafford.

Combined with his first spell at the club between 1983 and 1986, the combative attacker bagged 101 goals and notched up 20 assists in 286 games in a United shirt. However, in 1995 the Scottish manager decided he preferred a strike partnership of Eric Cantona and Andy Cole.

Hughes, who turned 61 on Friday, November 1, found the decision bitterly disappointing at the time, but having since managed clubs including United’s rivals Manchester City and also Blackburn Rovers, he later said he understood Ferguson’s stance.

“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,” Hughes said in an interview with the Daily Mail back in 2021.

“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.”

Hughes was part of a significant fire-sale at the club which also saw Paul Ince leave the club to sign for Inter Milan and Andrei Nanchelskis depart Old Trafford for Everton.

And after Chelsea offered a fee believed to have been around £1m to secure Hughes’ services, Ferguson chose to accept the huge bid which came their way.

“He was aware of a bid from Chelsea and didn’t try to block it,” Hughes added.

“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.”