Manchester is Red. Everybody knows that.
However, there is another Premier League football club located in our fair city. Not a big club like United of course, but nevertheless, they exist. That club is Manchester City.
The United and City rivalry is well documented. They first played each other in 1880 – albeit as Newton Heath and St Mark’s (West Gorton) – but there was no rivalry at this time. In fact, many Mancunians supported both teams and would do for decades. Player transfers between the clubs were not frowned upon, in fact they were celebrated, for one Manchester club helping another.
After the Second World War though, things changed. Supporters picked a side and stuck to it, and a rivalry began to develop. By the 1970s, it was fierce, not helped by the famous tackle by George Best on Glyn Pardoe which broke his leg so badly he almost lost it. Every time the two clubs met it was a real battle, on and off the pitch, since this was also during the rise of hooliganism.
You might think then, that players who have played for one club would never go and play for the other. However, you would be wrong. It’s not as common now as it used to be, but it does happen, and you might be surprised by some of the players who have worn both jerseys.
A few are absolute legends of the club.
Complete List of Players For Both Clubs
Here is a complete list of players who played for both clubs, Manchester United and Manchester City.
I will go into more detail on some of the biggest names further down the article, as well as showing you which players went from United to City and vice versa.
| Player | Years At Manchester United | Years At Manchester City |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Milarvie | 2 | 6 |
| William Douglas | 3 | 5 |
| Alf Edge | 2 | 1 |
| Adam Carson | 2 | 2 |
| Joe Cassidy | 7 | 2 |
| Frank Barrett | 5 | 2 |
| Hugh Morgan | 2 | 2 |
| Stockport Smith | 2 | 4 |
| Billy Meredith | 16 | 17 |
| Bert Read | 7 | 8 |
| Daniel Hurst | 2 | 2 |
| John Christie | 3 | 4 |
| Jimmy Bannister | 4 | 5 |
| Sandy Turnbull | 10 | 5 |
| Herbert Burgess | 5 | 4 |
| George Livingstone | 7 | 4 |
| Horace Blew | 1 | 1 |
| Herbert Broomfield | 2 | 3 |
| Mickey Hamill | 4 | 5 |
| Wilf Woodcock | 9 | 3 |
| George Albinson | 2 | 2 |
| Bill Dale | 7 | 8 |
| Bill Ridding | 4 | 2 |
| Len Langford | 4 | 5 |
| Harry Rowley | 9 | 2 |
| Denis Law | 11 | 3 |
| Brian Kidd | 12 | 4 |
| Wyn Davies | 2 | 2 |
| Sammy McIlroy | 12 | 2 |
| Peter Barnes | 3 | 8 |
| John Gidman | 6 | 3 |
| Peter Beardsley | 2 | 1 |
| Mark Robins | 7 | 1 |
| Tony Coton | 1 | 6 |
| Andrei Kanchelskis | 5 | 1 |
| Peter Schmeichel | 9 | 2 |
| Terry Cooke | 6 | 4 |
| Andy Cole | 7 | 2 |
| Carlos Tevez | 3 | 5 |
| Owen Hargreaves | 5 | 2 |
Next, I’ll break them up into players who went from United to City, and then players who went from City to United.
Man United Players Who Went to City
Some of these names never established themselves at United, some were amongst our greatest ever players.
| Player | Manchester United Years | Manchester City Years |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Milarvie | 1890–1891 | 1891–1896 |
| Alf Edge | 1891–1892 | 1894 |
| Adam Carson | 1892–1893 | 1893–1894 |
| Joe Cassidy | 1893; 1895–1900 | 1900–1901 |
| Frank Barrett | 1896–1900 | 1901–1902 |
| Hugh Morgan | 1900–1901 | 1901–1902 |
| John Christie | 1902–1904 | 1904–1907 |
| Horace Blew | 1906 | 1906 |
| Herbert Broomfield | 1907–1908 | 1908–1910 |
| Mickey Hamill | 1911–1914 | 1920–1924 |
| Wilf Woodcock | 1912–1920 | 1920–1922 |
| George Albinson | 1920–1921 | 1921–1922 |
| Bill Dale | 1925–1931 | 1931–1938 |
| Harry Rowley | 1928–1932; 1934–1937 | 1932–1933 |
| Brian Kidd | 1963–1974 | 1976–1979 |
| Sammy McIlroy | 1971–1982 | 1985–1986 |
| John Gidman | 1981–1986 | 1986–1988 |
| Peter Beardsley | 1982–1983 | 1998 |
| Mark Robins | 1986–1992 | 1999 |
| Andrei Kanchelskis | 1991–1995 | 2001 |
| Peter Schmeichel | 1991–1999 | 2002–2003 |
| Terry Cooke | 1994–1999 | 1999–2002 |
| Andy Cole | 1995–2001 | 2005–2006 |
| Carlos Tevez | 2007–2009 | 2009–2013 |
| Owen Hargreaves | 2007–2011 | 2011–2012 |
Man City Players Who Went to United
You will notice far fewer names in this list, and none from the past few decades. This tells you something about the direction of travel of both clubs.
| Player | Manchester City Years | Manchester United Years |
|---|---|---|
| William Douglas | 1890–1894 | 1894–1896 |
| Billy Meredith | 1894–1906; 1921–1924 | 1906–1921 |
| Bert Read | 1895–1902 | 1902–1908 |
| Stockport Smith | 1897–1900 | 1901–1902 |
| Daniel Hurst | 1901–1902 | 1902–1903 |
| Jimmy Bannister | 1902–1906 | 1906–1909 |
| Sandy Turnbull | 1902–1906 | 1906–1915 |
| Herbert Burgess | 1903–1906 | 1906–1910 |
| George Livingstone | 1903–1906 | 1909–1915 |
| Len Langford | 1930–1934 | 1934–1937 |
| Bill Ridding | 1930–1931 | 1931–1934 |
| Denis Law | 1960–1961; 1973–1974 | 1962–1973 |
| Wyn Davies | 1971–1972 | 1972–1973 |
| Peter Barnes | 1974–1979; 1987–1988 | 1985–1987 |
| Tony Coton | 1990–1996 | 1996 |
Denis Law
Arguably the biggest Manchester United legend to have played at both clubs is Denis Law.
Everyone knows how important he was to United. There is a statue of him outside Old Trafford for heaven’s sake. However, Denis Law was actually at Manchester City for a brief spell before moving to across Manchester to Old Trafford. He spent a season in Torino in between, but otherwise moved straight across.
After his United career, he went directly back to Manchester City for a season too. So Law ping-ponged between the two clubs, although there is no denying that he made his name as a Red.
That said, he was also partly responsible for Manchester United’s relegation in 1974. His famous 81st minute back heel goal sent City 1-0 up against United, in a game they had to win if they had any hope of avoiding relegation. As it happened, other results on the day meant United’s descent into League 2 was confirmed, but Law didn’t know that at the time, and refused to celebrate his goal.
It was his last kick of a ball in league football. He retired at the end of the season.
Peter Schmeichel
This one hurt a lot of fans. Gary Neville too judging by his reaction in the clip above!
No one wanted Peter Schmeichel to leave Manchester United. Despite being 35, many felt he could still perform, but for his own personal wellbeing he felt he needed to reduce his workload physically and mentally. In other words, he wanted a less intensive schedule at a less successful club.
Fair enough.
He spent 2 seasons at Sporting CP, but then returned to the Premier League with Aston Villa for a season, before surprising everyone with a move to Manchester City. Schmeichel was still a hero in Manchester after his role in the treble winning 1998/99 season, so to see him in Sky Blue was a shock.
Peter has said since that he checked with Alex Ferguson before agreeing the move, and Fergie told him it would be alright. City were not direct title rivals, and Schmeichel felt this made the move less of an issue. He also wanted to be in Manchester for family reasons. In hindsight, you can totally understand it, but at the time, it was difficult to accept.
Carlos Tevez
Tevez showed how easily a player can go from hero to villain. Fans loved him, but everything about his time at United was a saga.
Due to complex contract and ownership issues, Tevez joined United on a two year loan rather than a permanent deal. The plan was always to sign him permanently, so initially, things were fine. Then, during his second season, Tevez became unhappy. Negotiations over his contract were slow, there was some seriously strong attacking talent in the squad already, then Alex Ferguson also bought Berbatov and seemed to favour him in key matches.
Tevez needed to feel like top dog, but he didn’t feel important enough so his patience ran out and he decided to leave. In what he describes as “a dagger to Ferguson”, he chose Manchester City which had just be taken over by Sheikh Mansour. Manchester City was now the richest club in the world, and they had just poached one of United’s best players. It was the first time that a high profile talent had chosen blue over red. What makes it even worse, is that Manchester United legend, Mark Hughes, was managing City at the time. They even mocked Manchester United by putting up a sign showing Tevez in blue which said: “Welcome to Manchester”.
In many ways, Tevez symbolises the beginning of the shift in power between United and City. He was still there when City knocked United out of the 2010/11 FA Cup in the semi-finals and went on to win it – their first major trophy in 35 years. He was also there a year later when Man City won their first ever Premier League title, although he was on strike for much of the season so hardly contributed. Drama followed Carlos Tevez wherever he went.
Tevez left Manchester City after the 2012/13 season, the same season that Alex Ferguson retired. Patrice Evra has since said that Tevez wanted to hurt Alex Ferguson, so maybe the timing wasn’t a coincidence.