Mark Hughes carries son's coffin as Ferguson and football legends mourn Alex Hughes at 38

Mark Hughes carried his son Alex’s coffin into St Peter’s Church in Prestbury, Cheshire, on Friday, joined by hundreds of mourners including Sir Alex Ferguson, Bryan Robson and Ryan Giggs, as football paid its respects to a man who died suddenly on June 19 aged 38.

The former Manchester United and Wales striker, 62, bore the coffin alongside other family members — Alex’s brother Curtis and father-in-law David Pollock, who delivered the eulogy. Walking immediately behind was Alex’s wife Jess, his childhood sweetheart of 21 years, and their two young sons, Sebastian and Leonardo.

In his eulogy, Pollock addressed the boys directly, reflecting on how Alex had watched them play. “He’s so proud of your determination, he’s so proud of your passion. He will always be watching you in spirit, watching you score goals, watching you make tackles with every game. And when you look up and do your celebrations, which I know you’ve been doing already, he’ll be watching over you, high in the sky.”

Curtis Hughes, wearing sunglasses as he fought back tears, recalled his brother as someone whose best-man qualities were a permanent state of being rather than a single-day role. “Some people fill a room with noise, Alex filled it with warmth, loyalty and kindness,” he said. He also described a moment of comfort two days after Alex’s death, when a bee flew straight into him during a moment of distraction at work. “In that moment, I just knew it was Alex doing his best to annoy me just another time.”

Among the hundreds who packed the church were former United chief executive Martin Edwards, assistant manager Mike Phelan, and ex-Arsenal defender Martin Keown, as well as former Republic of Ireland international Jon Walters. Grimsby Town manager David Artell led a delegation from the club where Alex had been working as player recruitment lead at the time of his death.

Alex Hughes had brief playing spells at Stockport and Wrexham before moving into the technical side of the game. He began his off-field career as a performance analyst at Blackburn Rovers in 2007, working alongside his father, and went on to build a reputation in recruitment.