Former Manchester United forward Mark Hughes has revealed that he didn’t appreciate his sale to Chelsea, admitting it took him years to forgive the legendary Scottish manager. Hughes made the move to Stamford Bridge in 1995 after two stints at Old Trafford spanning 13 years with stints at Barcelona and Bayern Munich in between. Hughes admitted the decision left a bitter taste in his mouth but soon reconciled with the legendary manager, who had sent a personal letter to him.
Mark Hughes said: “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.”
