Match of the Day host Gary Lineker has named a former Manchester United striker as the player who changed the most off the pitch to on it.
A Manchester United cult hero has been picked out for his changing demeanour once the opening whistle of a football match blew.
Answering a question on the Rest Is Football podcast, Gary Lineker was asked which player he played alongside changed the most from the dressing room to the pitch.
Lineker had a quick response, picking out a famous forward he once played alongside at Barcelona.
Lineker picks out Mark Hughes
Lineker picked out Mark Hughes, who had two spells at Manchester United between 1980 and 196 and 1988 and 1995.
He played alongside Lineker at Barcelona in between, and clearly left a striking impression on the then-England international.
Lineker recalled: “Mark Hughes, really quiet, really timid, especially when he was young. He always seemed to be quite shy, until he’d had a couple of beers.
“I would say him, he transformed as soon as he crossed that white line onto a kind of really tough competitive, backing into people, aggressive footballer, different from how he was off the pitch.”
Hughes earned the nickname ‘Sparky’ owing to his fiery personality on the pitch, backing down from nobody and scoring some memorable goals for Sir Alex Ferguson‘s teams.
Sir Alex Ferguson agreed
Lineker’s assessment of Mark Hughes is backed by none other than Sir Alex Ferguson himself, who noted the two contrasting sides of the striker.
Ferguson told club media: “Mark was a determined player – he was a rottweiler and a warrior on that pitch – and yet off the pitch you couldn’t get a quieter guy.
“He had two personalities. He has aggression and determination. I think I had that too and I think that it’s a great quality.”
Hughes was a player who embodied the spirits of Fergie’s early successful United sides, a collection of players many still consider to be their very favourites to wear the shirt.
Mark Hughes numbers
The former Wales international played a total of 467 games for Manchester United, the 16th highest appearance maker of all time for the club.
Mark Hughes scored 163 goals for the club, where he ranks as the ninth highest scorer of all time for the Red Devils.
Now 60, Hughes won three FA Cups for Manchester United, two Premier League titles, one League Cup, one Cup Winners Cup and the European Super Cup.
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