5 players who played for both Liverpool and Manchester United

Perphaps the biggest rivalry in England is between Liverpool and Manchester United. The bitter rivalry is not just between the fans of the two clubs, but also amongst the players and managers.But in the past, there have been a few players who have represented both clubs in the Premier League or First Division despite knowing the history between the two clubs. We take a look at five such players who crossed the divide and played for both Liverpool and Manchester United.

#1 Michael Owen

Michael Owen came through the Liverpool youth ranks, as he went on the become one of the best strikers in the Premier League. He made his debut for the senior team against Wimbledon on 6 May 1997, and it took him just 16 minutes to get on the scoresheet.

Owen scored 158 goals in 297 appearances for Liverpool, winning the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup. He helped Liverpool win a treble in 2001, and his brilliant performances won him the Ballon d’Or that year.

Later in 2004, Real Madrid came calling, and Owen left the Reds to sign for the Spanish giants to play alongside Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Raul, Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham. He just spent one season at the Santiago Bernabeu, before returning to the Premier League when he signed for Newcastle United.

By now, Owen had suffered numerous injuries, and he starting to fade away. In 2009, free agent Owen signed for Manchester United. His most memorable moment for Manchester United was a 96th minute winner in a Manchester derby. The former England international also won the Premier League in 2010/11 with Manchester United.

CLUB	SEASONS	APPEARANCES	GOALS
Liverpool	1996 – 2004	297	158
Manchester United	2009 – 2012	52	17

#2 Peter Beardsley

The England forward was signed by Manchester United manager Ron Atkinson from Vancouver Whitecaps in 1982. But he made just one appearance in a League Cup game against AFC Bournemouth before going back to the Whitecaps.

A few months later, he returned to England to sign for Newcastle United and made a name for himself in the First Division. In 1987, Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson tried to bring back Beardsley to Manchester United, but he went on to join rivals Liverpool.

During his five-year stay at Merseyside, Beardsley established himself as one the best players in the division and won several trophies with Liverpool. He made 175 appearances and scored 59 goals for the Reds, winning two league titles and the FA Cup.

He also scored a hat-trick against Manchester United in 1990 to remind them of the mistake they had earlier made, as Liverpool won 4-1. He left Anfield in 1991, but only to join city rivals Everton for a fee of £1 million.

CLUB	SEASONS	APPEARANCES	GOALS
Manchester United	1982 – 1983	1	0
Liverpool	1987 – 1991	175	59

#3 Tom Chorlton

In 1912, Tom Chorlton became the first player to be directly transferred between the two clubs. He played for Stockport County and Accrington Stanley before signing for Liverpool in 1904.

During his early days at Anfield, Chorlton found it difficult to cement his place in the team. He made just 39 appearances in his first four seasons at the club, but became a regular since the start of 1908/09 season.

He won the Second Division title in 1904/05 with Liverpool and eventually made 121 appearances for the Merseyside club. Chorlton played as a centre-back and full-back during his days at Anfield and scored 8 goals for Liverpool.

He then joined Manchester United in 1912, but only made four appearances for the Old Trafford side. He finally ended his career at Manchester club Stalybridge Celtic.

CLUB	SEASONS	APPEARANCES	GOALS
Liverpool	1904 – 1912	121	8
Manchester United	1912 – 1914	4	0

#4 Phil Chisnall

The English forward started his career at Manchester United in 1959 and scored 10 goals in 47 appearances for them between 1959 and 1964. Legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly then made a bid for him in 1964 after watching him play for England U23 in a 4-2 win over the Germany U23 team at Anfield. He was the last player to be transferred between the two clubs and played under both Sir Matt Busby and Bill Shankly.

Chisnall signed for Liverpool for a fee of £25,000, but he made just nine appearances for the club. He later admitted that he found it difficult to break into the starting XI at Liverpool, but did not regret joining the Merseyside club.

Chisnall told the Liverpool Echo: “Things didn’t really work out for me but I didn’t regret joining Liverpool. It was a great side with players like Ian St John, Ian Callaghan, Peter Thompson, Roger Hunt, Willie Stevenson, Gordon Milne and Tommy Smith. So it was always going to be tough to get into the side.”

He then joined Southend United, where he made a name for himself scoring 31 goals in 160 games. He had to retire early at the age of 29 due to a knee injury and made his last appearance at Stockport County.

CLUB	SEASONS	APPEARANCES	GOALS
Manchester United	1959 – 1964	47	10
Liverpool	1964 – 1967	9	0

#5 Paul Ince

Former England midfielder Paul Ince, who started his career at West Ham United, was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson in 1989 for £1 million. He went on to make 281 appearances and scored 29 goals for the Red Devils, winning the Premier League twice, FA Cup twice, and the League Cup.

He then signed for Inter in 1995, only to return two years later to sign for Manchester United’s rivals Liverpool in a £1 million deal.

Ince was the only player to have captained both Manchester United and LIverpool. He made 81 appearances and scored 17 goals for Liverpool, but he won no trophies at the Anfield club during his two seasons.

His most memorable moment in a Liverpool shirt was a late equalizer against Manchester United to make it 2-2, as he celebrated with some passion in front of the Kop end. Ince retired at Macclesfield Town, but later went on to manage several clubs.

CLUB	SEASONS	APPEARANCES	GOALS
Manchester United	1989-95	281	29
Liverpool	1997-99	81	17