Herbalife International

200px
Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: HLF
Industry	Nutrition & Skin Care products
Founded	Los Angeles, California (1980 (1980))
Founder(s)	Mark Hughes
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California, United States
Key people	Michael O. Johnson (CEO) Des Walsh (President) Richard P. Goudis (COO) John DeSimone (CFO)
Products	Weight management, nutritional supplements, personal care
Revenue	US$ 3.454 billion (2011)[1]
Operating income	US$ 562.270 million (2011)[1]
Net income	US$ 412.578 million (2011)[1]
Total assets	US$ 1.446 billion (2011)[1]
Total equity	US$ 560.188 million (2011)[1]
Employees	5,100 (31 Dec 2011)[1]
Website	www.herbalife.com

Coordinates: 33°51′26″N 118°17′31″W / 33.857195°N 118.291855°W / 33.857195; -118.291855

Herbalife International (NYSE: HLF) is a global nutrition, weight management and skin-care company. The company was founded in 1980 and it employs around 4,000 people worldwide. Herbalife reported net sales of USD 3.45 billion in 2011 with a retail sales turn over of 5.1 Billion USD with an increase of 1.1 billion retail sales on 2010.^[2] Though incorporated in the Cayman Islands^[1], its corporate headquarters are in Los Angeles, United States.^[3]

The company distributes its products in 79 countries through a network of approximately 2.7 million independent distributors^[1], some of whom earn profit on product sales and additional commission from a multi-level marketing (MLM) compensation structure.

History[link]

In February 1980, Mark Hughes began selling the original Herbalife weight management product from the trunk of his car. Hughes often stated that the genesis of his product and program stemmed from the weight loss concerns of his mother Joanne, whose premature death he attributed to an eating disorder and an unhealthy approach to weight loss. His goal was to change the nutritional habits of the world.

His first product was a protein shake designed to help people manage their weight. He structured his company using a direct-selling, multi-level marketing model which attracted thousands of distributors (Herbalife Independent Distributors) who sold its products door-to-door or through word-of-mouth, without relying on commercial distribution in retail stores.

The company's slogan, "Lose Weight Now, Ask Me How", became a marketing theme for distributors, featuring heavily on badges, flyers and posters. Early methods to recruit distributors included seminars, which would feature distributors giving health and weight loss testimonials on the Herbalife products and a keynote address by Hughes. By 1982 Herbalife had reached USD 2 million in sales and had expanded into Canada.

In 1985, the California Attorney General sued the company for making inflated claims about the efficacy of its products. The company settled the suit for USD 850,000 without admitting wrongdoing.^[4] In 1986 Herbalife became a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ, and in 1996 Herbalife reached USD 1 billion in annual sales.

Mark Hughes died at age 44.^[5] The Los Angeles County Coroner autopsy results ruled that the entrepreneur had died of an accidental overdose. The company continued to grow after his death and in 2002 was acquired by Whitney and Co LLC and Golden Gate Capital for USD 685 million, who took the company private again.^[6]

In April 2003, Michael O. Johnson joined Herbalife as CEO following a 17-year career with The Walt Disney Company, most recently as president of Walt Disney International.^[4] On 16 December 2004, the company had an initial public offering on the NYSE of 14,500,000 common shares at $14/share. 2004 net sales were reported as USD 1.3 billion. In April 2005, the company celebrated its 25th anniversary with a four-day event attended by 35,000 Herbalife Independent Distributors from around the world. In August 2005, Dr. Steve Henig joined the company as Chief Scientific Officer, responsible for product research and development. In 2008, President and COO Greg Probert resigned after it was reported that he had not completed the degree requirements for the MBA he claimed on his resume.^[7]

Products[link]

Herbalife's product range includes protein shakes, protein snacks, nutrition, energy and fitness supplements and personal care products.^[8] The Formula 1 protein shake, a soy-based meal-replacement shake, is the company's number one product and was one of the first products sold by the company. The range also includes products for heart health, digestive health, skin care, and the new 24 sports line released in 2011. Some products are vegetarian, kosher or halal, and Herbalife provides testimonials and advice from health professionals as part of their product marketing.

According to the 2009 Form 10-K, many of its weight management, nutritional and personal care products are manufactured by third party manufacturing companies, with the exception of products distributed in and sourced from China, where they have their own manufacturing facility and several products are manufactured in its recently acquired manufacturing facility in Lake Forest, California. Herbalife is currently making modifications to its recently acquired manufacturing facility in order to increase capability and capacity, and upon completion of these modifications, expect to increase self manufacturing.^[9]:16

In October 2010, Herbalife held a ground-breaking ceremony in Changsha, Khanh Hoa Province, Viet Nam for its extraction facility for botanical extracts, powders and pure compounds to be used in its inner and outer nutrition products. The new facility is expected to open in the second half of 2011. The new extraction facility will purchase botanicals directly from farms in Hunan province, China and other regions, perform extraction and other conversion processes and then send these processed raw materials directly to Herbalife’s manufacturing facilities in Suzhou, China and Lake Forest, Calif. or to its third party manufacturers throughout the world. The new extraction plant will produce botanical extracts including teas, guarana, chamomile, broccoli and bilberry, among others, for use in many of its products. ^[10]

Efficacy of Herbalife products for weight loss[link]

Three clinical studies have been completed of the effect of different Herbalife products on weight loss.

[edit] The study of Treyzon et al.

Treyzon et al compared a protein supplement (Performance Protein Powder, Herbalife Intl., Los Angeles) with a similar tasting carbohydrate placebo. The two treatments showed significant differences in their effects on the primary outcome of body weight. Effects on body mass index, waist circumference or fat free mass were also significantly different. Subjects on the high protein powder lost significantly more fat mass, 1.01 kg, P=0.05.^[11] As this was a secondary analysis these findings should be interpreted with caution and regarded as exploratory until confirmed in independent studies.

The Lee study[link]

Lee et al used a similar design but a differently named protein powder (ShapeWorks Formula 3, Herbalife). Lee et al. found no significant difference in the effect of this protein powder on fat mass compared with placebo. Effects on other body weight and composition outcomes also did not differ significantly between the Herbalife protein powder and placebo. In a subgroup analysis, among subjects with dietary compliance ≥ 70%, the high-protein treatment was more effective than the control treatment in reducing body fat.^[12] As this was a secondary analysis these findings should be interpreted with caution and regarded as exploratory until confirmed in independent studies.

[edit] Flechtner-Mors et al.

Flechtner-Mors et al instructed 110 obese persons to cut their calories by about 50%. ^[13] Fifty-five persons made up the high protein group and received Herbalife meal replacement shakes, Performance Protein Powder and protein bars. The other 55 made up the conventional diet group, and received diet instructions only. After 12 months, 24 subjects in the protein group had dropped out, as opposed to 12 in the conventional group. For the dropouts, weight at 3 months instead of 12 months was used for calculating the effect of treatment. Mean weight loss at 12 months was 8.96 kg in the protein (Herbalife) group and 6.41 in the conventional group, a significant difference of 3.6 kg. The authors concluded that a protein-enriched diet may have advantages for the management of the adverse effects of obesity on health.^[14] The study was criticised by Busetto et al. ^[15] because the interpretation of the results was complicated by the high dropout rate, and also by the provision of shakes and bars to the Protein (Herbalife) group only. When subjects receive special weight loss products, they may stick better to their diet, independent of what weight loss products are given.

By and large, these studies do not provide convincing evidence that Herbalife products produce more weight loss than other products or than a proper placebo.^{[citation needed]}

Adverse effects[link]

Some of the original Herbalife weight loss products contained the active ingredient Ma Huang or Sida cordifolia, two herbs containing ephedra, an appetite suppressant. Herbalife stopped using ephedrine in its products in 2002 after several U.S. states banned supplements containing botanical sources of ephedrine alkaloids.^[16]:15[17] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned supplements containing ephedra in 2004.^[18]

In May 2008, the Fraud Discovery Institute, which claims to be a consumer watchdog organization, reported that laboratory test results of Herbalife products showed lead levels in excess of limits established by law in California under Proposition 65.^[19][20] The Fraud Discovery Institute was founded by Barry Minkow, who served seven years in jail for stock fraud,^[21] and since disclosed that his company was profiting from the allegations by shorting Herbalife stock.^[22] Herbalife responded stating its products met federal FDA requirements^[23][24] and released independent lab tests it said proved the products did not exceed Proposition 65 limits.^[22] On May 10, 2008 a suit was filed on behalf of a woman who developed lead-related liver complaints that she claimed were a reaction to a combination of Herbalife products.^[21][25] The suit was filed by lawyer Christopher Grell, cofounder of the Dietary Supplement Safety Committee and an associate of Barry Minkow.^[21] On June 17, 2008, the suit was expanded to add distributors who had supplied the woman with the Herbalife products, with Grell launching a website to offer persons who believe they were harmed by Herbalife products the chance of redress.^[26] In August 2008, Minkow retracted all accusations against Herbalife and removed any mention of the company from his web site.^[27]

Herbalife and liver disease[link]

In 2004 Israel's Health Minister began an investigation against Herbalife's products after four persons using Herbalife's products were found to have liver problems.^[28] Herbalife's products were accused of containing toxic ingredients such as Qua-qua, Kompri, and Kraska. The products were sent to the Bio-Medical Research Design LTD (B.R.D) laboratory, to a private laboratory in the United States of America, and to Israel's Forensic research laboratory. The company issued a press release stating that the Israeli government, and scientists working with Herbalife, were unable to establish a link between the product and the eight cases of liver damage. Herbalife withdrew the product, which was only marketed in Israel.^[29] Herbalife's SEC 10-Q filings state that the Israeli Ministry of Health did not establish a causal relationship between the product and liver ailments. The Israeli Ministry of Health advises individuals with compromised liver function to avoid dietary supplements.^[30] In 2009, an Israeli woman sued Herbalife International and Herbalife Israel, claiming that her liver damage resulted from the use of Herbalife products.^[31]

Scientific studies in 2007 by doctors at the University Hospital of Bern in Switzerland and the Liver Unit of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Israel found an association between consumption of Herbalife products and hepatitis.^[28][32] In response, the Spanish Ministry of Health issued an alert asking for caution in consuming Herbalife products.^[33] Herbalife has stated they are cooperating fully with Spanish authorities.^[34]

By 2011, hospitals in Israel, Spain, Switzerland, Iceland, Argentina and the United States had reported liver damage in a number of patients, part of whom had used Herbalife products.^{[35][28] [36][32] [37][38][39] [40][41][improper synthesis?]} Some patients recovered after they had stopped taking the products, in others the disease continued, and two patients died. Several authors considered it plausible that Herbalife products were the cause of the observed liver disease. Herbalife employees claim there is no definitive proof that Herbalife products cause hepatoxicity or other liver problems.^[42]

Business model[link]

Herbalife is a multi-level marketing (sometimes called MLM or network marketing) company. In addition to profits from product sales, Herbalife distributors can earn additional commissions from sales by their 'downline' distributors. Supporters of MLM contend this is a fair compensation system, while critics contend that it is similar to a pyramid scheme.^[43] Critics also argue that the company does not make enough effort to curb abuses by individual distributors, though Herbalife has consistently denied such allegations.^[44] Herbalife is a member of the Direct Selling Association in most countries in which it operates.

In its filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), company management note problems with inappropriate business practices in the past, their subsequent long-lasting effects and the need to avoid any repetition. Company management considers the number and retention of distributors a key parameter and tracks it closely in financial reports. By January of each year, sales leaders are required to requalify. In February of each year, they remove from the rank of sales leaders those individuals who did not satisfy the sales leader qualification requirements during the preceding 12 months. For the latest 12-month requalification period ending January 2011, approximately 48.9 percent of the eligible sales leaders requalified, reflecting an improvement from 43 percent in 2009.^[45] The company was cited as one of the most profitable companies in Los Angeles County.^[46]

A 2004 settlement resolved a class action suit on behalf of 8,700 former and current distributors that accused the company and distributors of "essentially running a pyramid scheme." A total of $6 million was to be paid out, with defendants not admitting guilt.

In a California class action suit, Minton v. Herbalife International, et al., the plaintiff is "challenging the marketing practices of certain Herbalife International independent distributors and Herbalife International under various state laws prohibiting "endless chain schemes", insufficient disclosure in assisted marketing plans, unfair and deceptive business practices, and fraud and deceit".^[47]

In a West Virginia class action suit, Mey v. Herbalife International, Inc., et al., the plaintiffs allege that some "telemarketing practices of certain Herbalife International distributors violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA, and seeks to hold Herbalife International vicariously liable for the practices of these distributors. More specifically, the plaintiffs' complaint alleges that several of Herbalife International's distributors used pre-recorded telephone messages and autodialers to contact prospective customers in violation of the TCPA's prohibition of such practices". Herbalife management insisted they have meritorious defences in both cases and that in the West Virginia case, any such distributor actions also went against Herbalife's own policies. Management also contends that any adverse legal outcomes Herbalife might suffer would not significantly affect their financial condition, particularly since they have already set aside an amount that they "believe represents the likely outcome of the resolution of these disputes".^[47] The case was resolved with Herbalife and its distributors paying $7 million into a fund for class members part of the suit.^[48]:42 Herbalife International did not acknowledge wrongdoing, or admit culpability for the actions of its distributors.

As of April 2008, a series of commercials featuring a large red animated fox advertising home-based business opportunities have been running on American television. The advertisements typically feature a series of testimonials from actors playing individuals who have made sums of money between $5,000 USD and $15,000 USD per month as a result of participating in an undescribed business program. The adverts direct viewers to a website that allows them to purchase a "success kit". The kit also provides no information about how the business opportunity works.

These adverts have been found to be run by independent Herbalife distributors, as a method of recruiting new 'downline' distributors.^[49] While it is not illegal, critics of this type of advertising prefer advertisers to be up front about their company associations.

Sponsorships[link]

Sports[link]

Herbalife sponsors a number of athletes, sports teams and sporting events around the world, including:^[50]

• 2011 World Football Challenge
• Sergey Konyushok (Broke 7 Guinness Records at Strongman competitions)
• LA Triathlon^[51]
• AYSO (the American Youth Soccer Organisation)^[52]
• Los Angeles Galaxy soccer team^[53]
• IndyCar drivers Townsend Bell and E.J. Viso in the 2010 Indy 500
• Valencia CF football club^[54]
• Pumas from Mexico
• Club San Luis from Mexico
• Santos FC, Official Nutrition Advisor
• FC Barcelona, international/regional Sponsor^[55]
• FC Spartak Moscow, Official Sponsor
• CA Lanús, Official Sponsor
• Lionel Messi
• Virat Kohli
• MC Mary Kom
• Club Maccabi Haifa, Israeli Football club
• Club Aris Thessaloniki Football club
• Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas football club
• Universidad San Martín from Perú
• Velo Club LaGrange (Herbalife LaGrange Cycling Team)
• Lyngby Boldklub from Denmark
• Wisła Kraków from Poland^[56]

Media[link]

In La Fea Más Bella, a Spanish-language program, a remake of "Betty la fea", the original Ugly Betty, the lead character Lety used actual Herbalife products as she underwent an onscreen "physical transformation" in six episodes of the show.^[57]

Criticism[link]

The specialists of the German Society of Food (German Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung) concluded that the use of Herbalife products do not solve the problem with weight. [37] In independent studies of the German magazine Konsument (Zeitschrift Ökotest 11/2003) states that the products of Herbalife at the time of research were among the most expensive products, "healthy eating". [38] In 2004, the United States, Herbalife company was accused of creating a financial pyramid selling. In order not to bring the matter to court, the company paid the sum of six million dollars for a waiver of proceedings, so the question was settled out of court. In the case appear the names of dealers 8700. [39]. Criticism of the company can be divided into three main categories: Criticism of network marketing as such because of its similarity to the financial pyramids. Criticism of obsessive direct sales [40], which holds the company. In addition, there is criticism of the opinion that some of Herbalife distributor using NLP techniques, similar to the method of hypnosis. A typical criticism of the cosmetic and nutritional companies, as well as companies that sell any food or consumer goods, exaggerate the dignity of their products. For example, the emphasis on their "natural" origin of the grasses and animals with exotic names, no preservatives and low in fat. Total culture and organization of some distributors Herbalife. Typical organization of sales of Herbalife is as follows: an initial increase in the discount on the company's products depends on the quantity of goods purchased during the month. Further, these discounts do not depend on the volume of procurement activity or distributor (though you can not buy anything at all) if it has not reached the level of supervisor. Procured goods are distributed for personal use and for sale. Education by the methods of sales going to the special training.

See also[link]

Companies portal

• Direct selling

References[link]

Notes

External links[link]

• Company profile by MarketWatch
• Herbalife Ltd.'s financial reports - Corporate disclosure and financial reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
• Herbalife Ltd. (HLF) company's profile - Yahoo Finance
• Herbalife SEC EDGAR filings

Mark Hughes

Hughes with Manchester United in 1992.
Personal information
Full name	Leslie Mark Hughes
Date of birth	(1963-11-01) 1 November 1963 (age 48)
Place of birth	Ruabon, Wrexham, Wales
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Queens Park Rangers (manager)
Youth career
1978–1980	Manchester United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1980–1986	Manchester United	89	(37)
1986–1988	Barcelona	28	(4)
1987–1988	→ Bayern Munich (loan)	18	(6)
1988–1995	Manchester United	256	(82)
1995–1998	Chelsea	95	(25)
1998–2000	Southampton	52	(2)
2000	Everton	18	(1)
2000–2002	Blackburn Rovers	50	(6)
Total		606	(163)
National team
1984–1999	Wales[1]	72	(16)
Teams managed
1999–2004	Wales
2004–2008	Blackburn Rovers
2008–2009	Manchester City
2010–2011	Fulham
2012–	Queens Park Rangers
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE^[2] (born 1 November 1963), is a former Welsh international footballer and the current manager of Queens Park Rangers having joined on 10 January 2012. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals.

During his playing career he was most noted for two spells at Manchester United, but he also played for Barcelona and Bayern Munich, as well as the English clubs Chelsea, Southampton, Everton and finally Blackburn Rovers, before retiring in 2002.

He won a host of medals during his playing career, including two Premier League title medals, four FA Cups, three League Cups and two European Cup Winners' Cups. He also collected an FA Cup runners-up medal and a League Cup runners-up medal.

His reign as Wales manager was his first managerial post; he was appointed in 1999 and remained in the role until 2004. He failed to qualify for a World Cup or European Championship during his five years in charge, although his reign coincided with a marked improvement in results; he came particularly close to securing European Championship qualification in 2004.

Playing career[link]

Manchester United (1980–1986)[link]

Born in Ruabon, Wrexham, Wales, Hughes joined Manchester United after leaving school in the summer of 1980, having been spotted by the team's North Wales talent scout Hugh Roberts.^[3] However he did not make his first team debut for three years — in a 1–1 draw away to Oxford United in the League Cup, in the 1983–84 season. Like many other United legends, Hughes quickly became a favourite at Old Trafford by scoring on his debut.

When Hughes made his United debut, the club's forward partnership consisted of 27-year-old Irishman Frank Stapleton and 18-year-old Norman Whiteside from Northern Ireland, and breaking up that partnership would not be an easy challenge for Hughes. But Hughes quickly broke into the first team, partnering Frank Stapleton in attack while Norman Whiteside was switched to midfield to partner Ray Wilkins and stand in for the injury prone Remi Moses. The departure of Wilkins to AC Milan at the end of the season saw manager Ron Atkinson decide to use Whiteside as a first choice midfielder, enabling Hughes to keep his place in the first team, and he was rewarded handsomely as he scored 25 goals in 55 games in all competitions as United achieved an FA Cup final victory over Everton. They also finished fourth in the league.

He managed a further 20 goals in the 1985–86 season, where they led until February having won their first 10 league games of the season, before a dismal second half of the season saw them slip into fourth place in the final table. That season saw him score 17 goals in the Football League First Division – it would remain the highest goals tally in a season throughout his career.

Barcelona and Bayern Munich (1986–1988)[link]

In the summer of 1986, Hughes was surprisingly sold to Barcelona for £2 million. The transfer had been agreed just after the turn of 1986 but not made public until the end of the season.

Manager Terry Venables was hoping for him to be a successful strike partner for Gary Lineker, whom he had signed from United's rivals Everton, but Hughes was a disappointment in his only season at Barcelona and was subsequently loaned out to German club Bayern Munich for the 1987–88 season, where he regained his form. On 11 November 1987 he played two competitive matches in one day: firstly he played for Wales against Czechoslovakia in Prague in a Euro 88 qualifier, and he was then driven across the border into Germany to come on as a substitute for Bayern in their 2nd round cup replay victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach.^[4]

Hughes was one of many British players who departed to the continent during the mid 1980s to early 1990s, as higher wages, coupled with the opportunity of playing in European competitions after English clubs were barred as a result of the Heysel disaster in 1985, tempted them abroad.

Back to Manchester United (1988–1995)[link]

In May 1988, Hughes returned to Manchester United, now managed by Alex Ferguson, for a then club record of £1.8 million. As he had done in his first spell at Old Trafford, Hughes proved to be a dynamic goalscorer and was a key player for the club over the next seven years.

He was voted PFA Player of the Year in 1988–89, his first season back in England, though United disappointed in the league and finished 11th after an erratic season which had seen them go 10 league games without a win in the autumn but then go on a strong run after the turn of the new year to lift them to third place, only for a late season collapse to drag them down to mid table. He was the very first Manchester United player to be credited with that award despite the accolade being in its 16th season.

A year later, he scored twice as United drew 3–3 with Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final, before a Lee Martin goal in the replay gave United their first major trophy in five years. He was United's top goalscorer that season, scoring 15 goals in all competitions (13 of them in the league).

The following season, Hughes scored both goals against old club Barcelona as United lifted the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. Once again, he was their top scorer, this time with 21 goals in all competitions. He was the joint top scorer in the league alongside Steve Bruce on 13 goals. They also reached the Football League Cup final that year, but United suffered a shock 1–0 defeat to a Sheffield Wednesday side managed by Ron Atkinson, who had been Hughes's manager in his first spell at Old Trafford. He was also voted PFA Player of the Year again this season.

In 1991–92, Hughes suffered the disappointment of missing out on a league title medal as United were pipped to the title by Leeds United, but had some compensation in the form of a League Cup winner's medal. A year after that, he finally collected an English league title medal as United won the first-ever Premier League title. Hughes collected yet more silverware in 1994 as United won the league title as well as the FA Cup, with Hughes scoring in the final. He also scored Manchester United's consolation goal in their 3–1 defeat in the 1994 League Cup Final at the hands of Aston Villa at Wembley in that season. In doing this, he became only the second player (after Norman Whiteside in 1983) to score in the finals of both the domestic cups in the same season. This has since been achieved a third time by Didier Drogba in 2007. Hughes came close to winning both the Premier League and FA Cup again in 1995, but a failure to beat West Ham on the final day of the season and the inability to score an equaliser against Everton in the FA Cup final a year later condemned United to their first trophyless season in six years. The FA Cup final was his last game in a United shirt.

In April 1994, he scored a spectacular equaliser in the final minute of extra time in the FA Cup semi-final against Oldham Athletic, a goal which has been described by many as one of the finest ever scored by any Manchester United player.^[5]

1994–95 was Hughes's last season at United as he agreed to join Chelsea in a surprise £1.5 million deal after the end of that season. There had been speculation about his future at United since midway through the season, as the arrival of Andy Cole in January had put his future in the first team under doubt, though he was given a lifeline in the first team after Eric Cantona received an 8-month ban for assaulting a spectator against Crystal Palace just after Cole's transfer. There was also talk that Cantona would be on his way out of Old Trafford, as Internazionale were interested in signing him, but when Cantona signed a new three-year contract Hughes knew that Cantona was likely to be straight back in the side after his suspension finished on 30 September 1995, and knew that his best chance of first-team football would be away from Old Trafford.

Hughes scored eight league goals in 1994–95 (two of them in the 9–0 demolition of Ipswich Town at Old Trafford on 4 March 1995) and managed a total of 12 in all competitions (two in the FA Cup and another two in the European Cup).

By the time of his departure from Manchester United, he was the last player at the club to have been there before the appointment of Alex Ferguson as manager in November 1986.

Chelsea (1995–1998)[link]

He left Old Trafford for the second and final time in June 1995 when he was sold to Chelsea for £1.5 million, in a summer that also saw the departures of players such as Paul Ince (to Internazionale) and Andrei Kanchelskis (to Everton). However, United still managed to achieve more success without Hughes, with the team winning the double for the second time in the subsequent season. Ironically, Hughes scored for Chelsea in both of their Premier League fixtures against Manchester United in 1995–96; a 4–1 win for United at Stamford Bridge in October and a 1–1 draw at Old Trafford in early December. He was on the losing side as United beat Chelsea 2–1 in the FA Cup semi-final that season, less than two years after he had scored one of United's goals in their FA Cup final triumph over Chelsea.

Hughes was one of the key players in Chelsea's resurgence as a top club in the late 1990s, forming an unlikely strike partnership with Gianfranco Zola and helping to freeze out Gianluca Vialli (who became the club's player-manager in February 1998). He put in match-winning performances against Liverpool and Wimbledon in the FA Cup in 1997, and Vicenza in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup a year later, playing a big part in their glory in both of these competitions. In winning the FA Cup, he became the only player in the 20th century to win the trophy four times. He ended his Chelsea career with 39 goals from 123 games and was transferred to Southampton for £650,000 in July 1998.

Southampton (1998–2000)[link]

He was signed for Southampton for £650,000^[6] by manager Dave Jones, as an alternative to injury-plagued David Hirst,^[7] who retired within 18 months of Hughes's arrival. Unfortunately, the goals failed to flow and Hughes was pushed back into midfield where his experience helped Southampton maintain their Premier League status.^[7]

His two goals for Southampton came against Blackburn Rovers, who he was later to join, and a "memorable volley" at home to Newcastle United on 15 August 1999.^[7] Hughes suffered with disciplinary problems throughout his career, and in his first season at The Dell he received 14 yellow cards, a total which has never been exceeded in the Premier League.^[8]

Everton and Blackburn Rovers (2000–2002)[link]

When Glenn Hoddle arrived as Southampton's manager, Hughes did not fit in to his plans and he left for Everton. He only played 16 times over the course of two seasons, scoring a single goal against Watford.^[9] He left on a free transfer to Blackburn Rovers, moving outside the top division for the first time in his playing career in 2000–01. He played a key role in getting Blackburn promoted from Division One in 2001. He also lifted the League Cup with Blackburn in February 2002,^[10] before finally hanging up his boots in July 2002 a few months short of his 39th birthday.^[11] His final career goal came in a 2–1 Premier League defeat to Leicester City on 9 April 2002. At the time he was the second oldest player behind Stuart Pearce to score in the Premier League, and almost a decade on he is still ranked as third in this category following goals by Teddy Sheringham, who scored his final Premier League goal in December 2006 at the age of 40.^[12]

Wales international career (1984–1999)[link]

He scored just 17 minutes into his Welsh debut, netting the winning goal against England on 2 May 1984.^[13] He went on to play 72 times for his country, scoring 16 times.

Managerial career[link]

Wales (1999–2004)[link]

Hughes was appointed Welsh national coach in 1999.^[14] Initially appointed on a temporary basis alongside Neville Southall to replace Bobby Gould, Hughes had soon done enough to earn himself a long-term contract, with Southall soon leaving the set-up.^[15] When he had taken over Wales were going through a bad patch, but in the five years with Hughes in charge Wales came close to qualifying for Euro 2004.

In their qualifying group Wales beat Italy—only to be denied a place in the final tournament after losing to Russia in the playoffs.

Blackburn Rovers (2004–2008)[link]

Hughes quit the Welsh national side in September 2004 to take charge of Blackburn Rovers in the FA Premier League, the last club he had played for.^[16] His key aim was to keep Blackburn clear of relegation which he succeeded in doing, whilst also taking the club to an FA Cup semi-final for the first time in over 40 years.^[17]

In his second season, Blackburn surprised even the most optimistic supporters by finishing inside the top six of the Premier League and qualifying for the UEFA Cup, beating teams such as Chelsea, Manchester United (twice) and Arsenal along the way. After just missing out on the League Cup final, his team sealed their spot in Europe by defeating champions Chelsea 1–0 at home.^[18]

On 4 May 2006, Hughes and assistant Mark Bowen signed new three-year contracts to remain at Blackburn until the summer of 2009.^[19]

Hughes then set about creating a formidable side at Ewood Park. He entered the transfer market, bringing in players such as Benni McCarthy (£2 million), David Bentley (£500,000), Ryan Nelsen (free), Stephen Warnock (£1.5 million), Roque Santa Cruz (£3.5 million), and Christopher Samba (£400,000). Rovers finished 10th in the Premier League in 2006–07, and reached the UEFA Cup round of 32, where they were knocked out by Bayer Leverkusen 3–2 on aggregate.^[20] Rovers faced Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final, their third consecutive semi-final since Hughes took charge. The match ended in defeat 2–1.^[21]

He won the October 2007 Award for the Premier League Manager of the Month,^[22] and eventually led Blackburn to a league finish of 7th in 2007–08, Hughes' final season in charge at Ewood Park.

During his spell in charge of Blackburn, Hughes' side was accused of being "over-physical" and "dirty" on multiple occasions^[23][24][25] and the club finished bottom of the Premier League disciplinary table in all four of Hughes' seasons in charge.^[26]

Manchester City (2008–2009)[link]

On 2 June 2008, Manchester City sacked manager Sven-Göran Eriksson.^[27] Hughes was reported to be the first choice of City owner Thaksin Shinawatra to replace Eriksson.^[28] However, interest was also reported from Chelsea, who had recently sacked their manager, Avram Grant.^[29] Blackburn Rovers confirmed on 2 June that they had agreed to allow Hughes to talk to Manchester City.^[30]

The following day, Blackburn agreed a compensation package for Hughes to take over as manager of Manchester City, and he was appointed as head coach on 4 June 2008 on a three year contract.^[31] Following the appointment, Manchester City's executive chairman Garry Cook stated that "The Club intends to invest in new players as well as securing the long term services of key members of the current first team squad. Mark has already identified some of the players and backroom staff that he wants to see here at City, and we will begin the process of recruiting them immediately."^[32] The players who did arrive were Jo, Tal Ben Haim, Vincent Kompany, Shaun Wright-Phillips returning from Chelsea and Pablo Zabaleta.

Hughes first game in charge resulted in a 4–2 loss at Villa Park but was followed up with 3–0 wins against West Ham United and Sunderland.

On 1 September 2008 Manchester City were taken over by the Abu Dhabi United investment group,^[33] who made large amounts of transfer funds available to Hughes, allowing City to break the British transfer record and sign Robinho from Real Madrid for £32.5m.^[34] Hughes was very active in the January 2009 transfer window, signing Wayne Bridge from Chelsea, Craig Bellamy from West Ham United, Shay Given from Newcastle United as well as Nigel de Jong from Hamburger SV.

City finished 10th in Hughes' first season with the club as well as reaching the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. City's home form was amongst the best in the league while their away form was amongst the worst.

In the summer of 2009 Hughes added the likes of Gareth Barry from Aston Villa, Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn Rovers, Carlos Tévez from Media Sports Investments, Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Touré from Arsenal to his squad. In addition he also signed defenders Joleon Lescott from Everton for a reported £22m and former Arsenal and twice Champions League winner with Barcelona, Sylvinho on a free transfer.^[35]

Hughes started the 2009–10 campaign with a 2–0 away win at his former club Blackburn Rovers.^[36] A further 1–0 win against another former club Barcelona in the Joan Gamper Trophy at a capacity Camp Nou.^[37] was followed up by a 1–0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Eastlands.^[38] Hughes's team then beat Crystal Palace in the Carling Cup 2–0 and Portsmouth 1–0 to maintain a 100% clean sheet start to the season.^[39] City continued in good form beating Arsenal 4–2 and West Ham 3–1 either side of a 4–3 derby day defeat to Manchester United, City would then however, go on a run of seven straight draws. City did beat Scunthorpe United and Arsenal 5–1 and 3–0 respectively in the Carling Cup to reach their first semi-final since 1981 which they eventually lost to rivals Manchester United, despite winning the first leg. Hughes then led City to their first victory over his former club Chelsea for five years with a 2–1 victory.

That last victory was one of only two wins in eleven successive Premier League matches, and Hughes was sacked on 19 December 2009 and replaced by Roberto Mancini.^[40]

Fulham (2010–2011)[link]

On 29 July 2010, Hughes became the new manager of Fulham, following the departure of Roy Hodgson to Liverpool. Hughes agreed a two-year contract with the London side and was officially unveiled to the media on 3 August 2010, before his first game as manager on 7 August against Werder Bremen. Hughes was joined at Fulham by his backroom team of Eddie Niedzwiecki, Mark Bowen and Kevin Hitchcock.^[41][42] His first league game in charge of the Cottagers came exactly a week later, when they drew 0–0 at Bolton Wanderers on the opening day of the Premier League season, followed by a resolute display against Manchester United in a 2–2 draw at the Cottage.^[43] Draws followed in four of Fulham's next five Premiership games against Blackpool, Blackburn Rovers, Everton and West Ham United, with a solitary 2–1 home win over Wolves. This meant that at that stage – including the 7-draw streak at Manchester City before his dismissal the season before – all but two (86%) of Hughes' last fifteen Premiership games had been drawn. The bizarre run, exclusively made up of draws or 2–1 results, continued with 2–1 defeats to Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion in the second half of October 2010. At the end of the 2010–2011 season Hughes led Fulham to an 8th placed finish in the league and UEFA Europa League qualification through the Fair Play league.

Hughes resigned as manager of Fulham on 2 June 2011 having spent less than 11 months at the club. Following his departure he said "As a young, ambitious manager I wish to move on to further my experiences".^[44]

Fulham owner Mohamed Al-Fayed hit back at former manager Mark Hughes for questioning the club's ambition. Al Fayed called Hughes a "strange man" and a "flop" and says he rescued him from becoming a forgotten man after being sacked by Manchester City.^[45]

Queens Park Rangers (2012–)[link]

On 10 January 2012, Mark Hughes agreed terms with Queens Park Rangers and signed a two-and-a-half year contract as their new manager, replacing the recently sacked Neil Warnock.^[46] Mark Hughes kept Queens Park Rangers in the Barclays Premier League.

Honours[link]

Club[link]

Manchester United

• Premier League: 1992–93, 1993–94
• FA Cup: 1984–85, 1989–90, 1993–94
• Football League Cup: 1991–92
• FA Charity Shield: 1990 (shared), 1993, 1994
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1990–91
• UEFA Super Cup: 1991

Chelsea

• FA Cup: 1996–97
• Football League Cup: 1997–98
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1997–98

Blackburn Rovers

• Football League Cup: 2001–02

Individual[link]

• Inducted into English Football Hall of Fame^[47]

Career statistics[link]

Player[link]

^[48][49]

International goals[link]

Scores and results list. Wales' goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	2 May 1984	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham	England	1–0	1–0	1984 British Home Championship
2.	22 May 1984	Vetch Field, Swansea	Northern Ireland	1–0	1–1	1984 British Home Championship
3.	14 November 1984	Ninian Park, Cardiff	Iceland	2–1	2–1	1986 World Cup qualifier
4.	30 April 1985	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham	Spain	2–0	3–0	1986 World Cup qualifier
5.	5 June 1985	Brann Stadion, Bergen	Norway	2–4	2–4	Friendly
6.	10 September 1985	Ninian Park, Cardiff	Scotland	1–0	1–1	1986 World Cup qualifier
7.	9 September 1987	Ninian Park, Cardiff	Denmark	1–0	1–0	Euro 1988 qualifier
8.	1 June 1988	Ta' Qali National Stadium, Valletta	Malta	2–2	3–2	Friendly
9.	17 October 1990	Ninian Park, Cardiff	Belgium	3–1	3–1	Euro 1992 qualifier
10.	14 October 1992	Tsirion Stadium, Limassol	Cyprus	1–0	1–0	Friendly
11.	17 February 1993	Tolka Park, Dublin	Republic of Ireland	1–0	1–2	Friendly
12.	28 April 1993	Bazaly, Ostrava	Czechoslovakia	1–0	1–1	Friendly
13.	2 June 1996	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle	San Marino	2–0	5–0	1998 World Cup qualifier
14.				3–0
15.	31 August 1996	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	San Marino	2–0	6–0	1998 World Cup qualifier
16.				5–0

Manager[link]

As of 13 May 2012.

Team	Country	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Wales		September 1999	September 2004	&1000000000000004100000041	&1000000000000001200000012	&1000000000000001500000015	&1000000000000001400000014	&1000000000000002926999929.27
Blackburn Rovers		15 September 2004	3 June 2008	&10000000000000188000000188	&1000000000000008200000082	&1000000000000004700000047	&1000000000000005900000059	&1000000000000004361999943.62
Manchester City		4 June 2008	19 December 2009	&1000000000000007700000077	&1000000000000003600000036	&1000000000000001500000015	&1000000000000002600000026	&1000000000000004675000046.75
Fulham		29 July 2010	2 June 2011	&1000000000000004300000043	&1000000000000001400000014	&1000000000000001600000016	&1000000000000001300000013	&1000000000000003256000032.56
Queens Park Rangers		10 January 2012	Present	&1000000000000002000000020	&100000000000000070000007	&100000000000000020000002	&1000000000000001100000011	&1000000000000003500000035.00
Total				&10000000000000368000000368	&10000000000000150000000150	&1000000000000009500000095	&10000000000000123000000123	&1000000000000004075999940.76

References[link]