Their are few rivalries in English football like the one between Manchester United and Liverpool. Many would say it even tops the local derby between United and City, and the one between Liverpool and Everton. In fact, it is considered to be one of the fiercest derbies in world football.
It may come as a surprise then, that a number of players have played for both teams during their careers, including a couple of club legends on both sides.
The rivalry itself goes back to the days of industry, way before football. The close proximity of Manchester and Liverpool made them economic rivals. When the Manchester Ship Canal was built, allowing vessels to bypass Liverpool’s docks, Liverpudlians were not happy because it hit them in the pocket. The two towns have been symbolically at war ever since.
Throw football into the mix, especially during the 1970s and 1980s when fighting on the terraces or around the grounds was not exactly uncommon, and you have a potent combination.
Liverpool were dominant during that time, but United became dominant for the next two decades as Liverpool fell into mediocrity. Fans of both clubs hate to see the other team doing well, especially when their own team is not exactly setting the world on fire, and there have been some electrifying matches between the two sides over the years.
Many of those have featured players who have worn both jerseys, and this article is about those players.
Complete List: Players for Both Clubs
Here is every single player who has represented both Manchester United and Liverpool professionally, as well as how many years they spent at each club.
There aren’t many, especially not in the modern era, which tells you a lot about how serious this rivalry really is.
| Player | Years At Manchester United | Years At Liverpool |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Chorlton | 3 | 9 |
| Jackie Sheldon | 4 | 9 |
| Tom Miller | 2 | 9 |
| Fred Hopkin | 3 | 11 |
| Tommy Reid | 5 | 4 |
| Ted Savage | 2 | 8 |
| Allenby Chilton | 18 | 1 |
| Tommy McNulty | 6 | 5 |
| Phil Chisnall | 6 | 4 |
| Peter Beardsley | 2 | 5 |
| Paul Ince | 7 | 3 |
| Michael Owen | 4 | 9 |
Only two of those players switched sides in the Premier League era, and there has not been a direct transfer between Manchester United and Liverpool since Phil Chisnall in 1964. Although Gabriel Heinze did his best to change that, but his transfer was ultimately blocked.
Interestingly, all of the players before this point were direct transfers, showing that the footballing rivalry was not as intense in those days as it became later on.
Manchester United Players Who Went to Liverpool
The first four names on this list all transferred directly from Manchester United to Liverpool. Peter Beardsley didn’t, but he also never made a first team appearance for United. More on Paul Ince below.
| Player | Years At Manchester United | Years At Liverpool |
|---|---|---|
| Jackie Sheldon | 1910–1913 | 1913–1921 |
| Fred Hopkin | 1919–1921 | 1921–1931 |
| Tommy McNulty | 1949–1954 | 1954–1958 |
| Phil Chisnall | 1959–1964 | 1964–1967 |
| Peter Beardsley | 1982–1983 | 1987–1991 |
| Paul Ince | 1989–1995 | 1997–1999 |
Liverpool Players Who Went to Manchester United
Michael Owen is the big name here, but I will discuss him in detail below. Again, all the players before him went direct from Liverpool to Manchester United. Allenby Chilton left Liverpool having never played first team football for them, but made 352 appearances for United.
| Player | Years At Liverpool | Years At Manchester United |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Chorlton | 1904–1912 | 1912–1914 |
| Tom Miller | 1912–1920 | 1920–1921 |
| Tommy Reid | 1926–1929 | 1929–1933 |
| Ted Savage | 1931–1937 | 1937–1938 |
| Allenby Chilton | 1938 | 1938–1955 |
| Michael Owen | 1996–2004 | 2009–2012 |
Paul Ince
Paul ‘The Guv’nor’ Ince was a real fan favourite at Old Trafford, who seemed to instinctively understand the club’s DNA. Signed from West Ham after they were relegated to the Second Division in 1989, the Londoner was a rock in midfield.
Known for his strength and aggression, Ince was a key player in Sir Alex Fergusons early successful sides, but the story goes that he got a bit too big for his boots. Always a big personality, Ince began referring to himself as The Guv’nor, and while it was partly his confidence and leadership qualities that made him effective, they were also causing tensions between him and Fergie.
As everyone knows, there was only one boss at Manchester United during Alex Ferguson’s reign, and that was him. So Ince was sold to Inter Milan because Fergie saw him as a threat to his authority.
Ince has since said that he did not want to go. He said that United had first refusal when he had to come back to the UK. And he has also said that he would never have gone to Liverpool direct. But he feels the break between stops the move being a cardinal sin.
At Liverpool, Paul Ince was a leadership figure too, but he was now 30 years old, so his career was winding down. He spent two seasons at Anfield, playing against Manchester United on several occasions, scoring once, but never winning a game against his former club.
He is the only player to have captained both sides, although he was not the permanent captain of Manchester United.
Michael Owen
Once the Golden Boy of Anfield (and of the England team), Michael Owen arrived in Manchester via Real Madrid and Newcastle United, but it was still seen as treachery by Liverpool fans.
Sir Alex Ferguson had tried to sign him as a school boy but he was almost 30 by the time the deal was finally done. Serious injuries had made him a shadow of the player he once was, but the shadow of a young Michael Owen was still better than the majority of Premier League strikers in their prime.
Owen was used as a squad player for Man united, making 52 appearances and scoring 17 goals. Most of these were in League Cup or FA Cup matches, with Premier League appearances often coming off the bench.
He has explained his decision to move to Manchester United despite knowing the grief it would bring him, saying that his only options at the time were Hull, Everton, or United. Hull were a real relegation risk, and Owen felt like going to Everton would cause more drama than going to United, so he chose Old Trafford. He was actually trying to return to Liverpool, but the manager at the time did not want him.
As it turned out, he never played more than about half an hour against Liverpool while at United, but nevertheless, the move created a lot of drama at the time.