From Owen to Ince - Meet the players who played for both Man Utd & Liverpool

Man Utd vs Liverpool starts tonight, The Red Devils and the Reds have a fiery rivalry so it’s a surprise to see so many players who played for both clubs. Here we will take a look at players who have played for Liverpool and Manchester United.

7. Allenby Chilton

Chilton is known to Manchester United fans as the central figure during Matt Busby’s first league title-winning team in 1951/52. Little does everyone know that the Sunderland-born defender actually started his career with Liverpool.

Chilton moved to Merseyside in 1938 as a youth player, switching from his local side in Seaham. Due to the lack of first-team chances at Anfield, the centre-half ended up moving to Old Trafford only a few months later.

The player made his United debut on 2 September 1939, just a day before the Second World War broke out in Europe. He missed six years of his career to the war but was always present when normal football resumed at United. He eventually lost out his place to Mark Jones, a player from Matt Busby’s golden generation in 1955.

6. Tom Miller

Liverpool paid out £400 to sign Tom Miller in February 1912. The former Hamilton star was an instant hit at Merseyside and was instrumental in the club’s first-ever FA Cup final run two years later.

However, like many players of his generation, Miller’s career had to take a backstep to the First World War in 1914. He had to wait five years to play for Liverpool again.

But despite losing out on his best years, Miller rediscovered his form and was soon a subject of interest for Manchester United. The Red Devils shelled out a then-club record fee of £2,000 in 1920. Miller made only 28 total appearances and scored 8 goals before leaving Old Trafford a year later.

5. Phil Chisnall

Phil Chisnall was the last ever player to be directly transferred from Manchester United to Liverpool way back in 1964. He started his career at Old Trafford, registering 35 appearances and 8 goals for the club.

Bill Shankly convinced him into switching to Liverpool in 1964 when the rivalry between these two English giants was starting to take form. Chisnall had to face serious competition in the forward position, going up against the likes of Ian St John, Roger Hunt, Ian Callaghan and Peter Thomson.

Unfortunately, he could never break through the ranks and managed only 6 games with the Reds. After only one goal in his first year, he was sold off to Southend United.

4. Paul Ince

Paul Ince is a player who angered a lot of Manchester United fans by playing for their direct rivals. The English midfielder completed a highly controversial transfer from West Ham United to the Red Devils in 1989 for £1m. He made 281 appearances and scored 29 goals for the club, lifting the FA Cup and Premier League titles twice before being sold off to Inter Milan in 1995.

After a failed stint at Serie A, the Nerazzurri offloaded Ince to Liverpool for £1m after only two seasons. He ended up featuring in 81 games for the Reds, in the process becoming the only player to captain both Liverpool and Manchester United.

3. Peter Beardsley

Peter Beardsley represented Manchester United just once but he also played for Liverpool and Everton. He had moved to Old Trafford from Vancouver Whitecaps in 1982 and after one flop season, moved back to Canada.

He came back to the Premier League to play for Newcastle United in 1983 and hit his best form, scoring 61 goals in 147 appearances. Liverpool soon came calling and picked him up for a record fee of £1.9m. He scored 59 goals for the Reds and became an instant Kop favourite. He ended up staying at Merseyside for six years, two of those were spent with Everton.

2. Tom Charlton

Tom Chorlton was the first-ever player to be directly transferred from Liverpool to Manchester United way back in 1912. Born in Stockport, Chorlton was a traditional English defender. He represented a lot of clubs before signing for Liverpool – Northern F.C, Accrington Stanley and Stockport County, and All Saints F.C.

Liverpool’s manager at that time was Tom Watson who acted fast in acquiring Charlton’s signature. The center-half made 117 appearances for the Reds and also scored 8 goals, winning the second division title during his 8 years with them.

Just before the First World War was about to break out, Charlton signed for Manchester United.

1. Michael Owen

One of the most memorable names in recent times, Michael Owen is still mocked to this day for signing with Manchester United. Of course, the striker was way past his prime when he signed for the Red Devils but the very thought of even signing for their direct rivals was enough to rile up the Liverpool fans.

Owen played a very important role in Liverpool’s treble-winning season in 2001, picking up the Ballon d’Or for himself that year. He was hailed as a God at Merseyside and was also one of the most wanted players on the planet. Real Madrid picked him up in 2004 and it was pretty much a steep downhill road from there. He returned to the Premier League after only one year and signed with Newcastle United.

Owen could never really regain his old form and soon injuries started to get the better of him. Finally, in 2009, Sir Alex Ferguson picked him up from the free-agent market as a backup to the United strike force. The former striker ended up winning the Premier League medal with the Red Devils which played further into Liverpool fans’ distaste for him.