Alex Hughes, the 38-year-old son of Wales and Manchester United football legend Mark Hughes, died from sudden adult death syndrome, an inquest heard. The player recruitment lead collapsed on the floor of his bedroom at his £1.2m home in Prestbury, Cheshire, and was found by his two sons at 7am on June 19.
Inquest details
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. Coroner Victoria Davies agreed with the cause of death and ruled it natural causes.
Alex's eldest son carried out CPR on him in vain, but he could not be revived. At the time of his death, Alex was working in Grimsby Town's player recruitment department.
Family tribute
Manchester United striker Mark, 62, had announced the tragedy in an emotional statement saying it had left his family “totally heartbroken”. In a statement via the League Managers Association, 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."
Funeral and legacy
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. Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson attended the funeral along with 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 had a brief football career in Wales before moving into behind-the-scenes roles. He worked as a match analyst at Blackburn, a scout at Manchester City, chief analyst at Fulham, and had advisory roles at 1860 Munich and Reading. In 2024 he became director of football at AFC Fylde before returning to scouting roles at Morecambe and Grimsby.
Understanding SADS
According to the British Heart Foundation, sudden adult death syndrome (also known as sudden arrhythmic death syndrome or SADS) is when someone dies suddenly and unexpectedly from a cardiac arrest but the cause is not clear. 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.
