Mark Hughes’ son’s cause of death confirmed at inquest after he was found by children
Manchester United and Wales’ star Mark Hughes’ football star-maker son died after collapsing on the floor of his bedroom at his home and was found by his own two children
Mark Hughes during his time in charge of Manchester City
The son of Wales and Manchester United football legend Mark Hughes died tragically from sudden adult death syndrome, an inquest heard.
Alex Hughes, 38, died after collapsing on the floor of his bedroom in his home, the inquest was told. The player recruitment lead was found by his two sons on June 19 at his £1.2m home in Prestbury, Cheshire, at 7am.
An inquest heard his eldest son carried out CPR on him in vain but he could not be revived.Cheshire Coroners Court was told that medics ruled the cause to be sudden adult death syndrome.
The hearing in Warrington was told the condition usually occurs in young men and there are around 800 cases per year in England
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Coroner Victoria Davies agreed with the cause of death and ruled it natural causes. Alex was working in Grimsby Town’s player recruitment department at the time.
Funeral tribute to Alex Hughes
Manchester United striker Mark, 62, had announced the tragedy in an emotional statement saying it had left his family “totally heartbroken”.
The former Manchester City, Wales, Blackburn and Stoke City boss carried his son’s coffin last month as he paid his final respects.
In a statement via the League Managers Association at the time of the tragedy he said: “Jill and I are totally heartbroken by the sudden and unexpected loss of our beloved son Alex.
“Alex was a wonderful son, brother to Curtis and Xenna, devoted husband and father to Jessica and their two beautiful children Sebastian and Leonardo. Alex was Player Recruitment Lead at Grimsby Town FC, and had many good friends and colleagues.
“He will be so deeply missed by us all. We ask for privacy during this sad time as we come to terms with our family’s loss.”
Leading sports figures joined mourners for the funeral at St Peter’s Church in Prestbury, Cheshire, last month.
Alex’s wife Jess, whom he had known since school, was accompanied by their sons Sebastian and Leonardo.
Sir Alex Ferguson attends Alex Hughes’ funeral
Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson attended the funeral along with fellow giants of the game Bryan Robson and Ryan Giggs.
Alex’s father-in-law David Pollock gave a eulogy explaining how his son-in-law was proud of his boys who had begun pointing to the skies after scoring goals.
Born in 1987 while dad Mark was contracted to Barcelona Alex himself had a brief football career in Wales before moving into a variety of behind-the-scenes roles.
He earned his stripes as a match analyst at Blackburn before Manchester City took him on as a scout.
Alex then worked as chief analyst at another of his dad’s former clubs, Fulham, before forging his own path with advisory roles at 1860 Munich and Reading.
In 2024 he took over as director of football at AFC Fylde before returning to prominent scouting roles at Morecambe and Grimsby.
Dad Mark, 62, had a distinguished playing career with United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Southampton, Everton and Blackburn.
Alex Hughes’ cause of death has been confirmed
He then became a mainstay in Premier League management after five years in charge of the Welsh national team.
Hughes was most recently in charge of Carlisle United but left after suffering defeat in the National League play-off semi-finals.
According to the British Heart Foundation sudden adult death syndrome – aka sudden arrhythmic death syndrome or SADS – is when ‘someone dies suddenly and unexpectedly from a cardiac arrest but it’s not clear what the cause was’.
The foundation’s website states: “A cardiac arrest is when your heart suddenly stops pumping blood around your body. This stops you from breathing which starves your brain of oxygen.
“The rhythm of your heart which controls your heartbeat is controlled by electrical impulses. If these electrical impulses go wrong you can get an abnormal heart rhythm known as an arrhythmia. Some arrhythmias are dangerous if they’re left untreated as they can cause a cardiac arrest.
“Your heart’s rhythm and electrical impulses stop after death. The heart’s structure may then look normal even if there was a problem with the heart’s rhythm.
“This is why it can be hard to find the cause of the cardiac arrest and SADS may be diagnosed.
“Sudden arrhythmic death syndrome affects around 500 people in the UK every year.”
Credit: Daily Star
