6 Players Who Turned Out for Both Manchester United and Liverpool
It's not a common thing for a footballer to play for both Manchester United and Liverpool. Only a handful have ever done it and such has been the great and fierce rivalry that has developed between the two great clubs over the last 50 years playing for both has become even rarer since the 1960s.
But ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash at Anfield, here's a look at six individuals who have pulled on both jerseys.
6. Tom Miller
Liverpool paid the princely sum of £400 to bring Scottish forward Tom Miller south of the border to Anfield in February 1912. The former Hamilton star was an instant hit on Merseyside and helped the club to their first ever FA Cup final a little over two years later.
However, just like so many players his generation, Miller's career was brought to a halt by the First World War in 1914 - he wouldn't return to action for Liverpool for five years.
But despite the hiatus and the loss of his peak years, Miller rediscovered his form and was soon the interest of Manchester United. He moved to Old Trafford for a club record fee of £2,000 in 1920, but made just 28 total appearances before moving on a year later.
Liverpool: 1912 - 1920 (146 appearances, 56 goals)
Manchester United: 1920 - 1921 (28 appearances, 8 goals)
*the picture shows the scene at the 1914 FA Cup final between a Liverpool side featuring Miller and Burnley, who lifted the trophy.
5. Allenby Chilton
Known to Manchester United fans as the man who was a central figure in Matt Busby's first league title wining team in 1951/52, hardy Sunderland-born centre-half Allenby Chilton actually started his career at Liverpool.
Chilton moved to Merseyside in 1938 when he joined Liverpool as an amateur from his local colliery side in Seaham. However, he never actually got the chance to play a senior competitive game for the club before moving to Old Trafford only a few months later.
The player made his United debut on 2nd September 1939, just a single day before the Second World Ward broke out in Europe. He lost six years of his career, but was a near ever-present for United when normal football returned, eventually losing his place to Mark Jones of the Busby Babes generation in 1955.
Liverpool: 1938 (0 senior appearances)
Manchester United: 1938 - 1955 (390 appearances, 3 goals)
*the video features a game Chilton played for Manchester United against Manchester City in 1955 during which he wore the number 5 shirt and was sent off.
4. Peter Beardsley
Given all he achieved in a Liverpool, Everton, Newcastle and England shirt, people often forget that Peter Beardsley spent part of his early career struggling to make the grade at Manchester United.
Beardsley joined United from Canadian side Vancouver Whitecaps in the autumn of 1982 for a not insignificant fee of £250,000. However, the youngster was unable to break into the side and returned to Canada after just one solitary League Cup appearance.
The forward was back in England soon after, joining Newcastle, before Liverpool splashed out close to £2m to buy him in 1987. An important part of the last great Reds team, Beardsley picked up two league winner's medals and an FA Cup at Anfield. He then moved across the city to Everton in 1991.
Manchester United: 1982 - 1983 (1 appearance, 0 goals)
Liverpool: 1987 - 1991 (175 appearances, 59 goals)
3. Paul Ince
A powerful and uncompromising midfielder, Paul Ince arguably enjoyed the best years of his career as a central part of Alex Ferguson's first great Manchester United team. A near ever present in the inaugural Premier League season, he was then a domestic double winner in 1993/94.
Ince was sold in 1995, though, as a new generation of young players came to the fore at Old Trafford. The midfielder left for Italy and Inter Milan, but was back in England two years later, joining Liverpool for a little over £4m.
His time at Anfield unfortunately coincided with a disappointing slump for the club and an ambitious Middlesbrough snapped up a 31-year-old Ince for £1m in the summer of 1999.
Manchester United: 1989 - 1995 (277 appearances, 28 goals)
Liverpool: 1997 - 1999 (81 appearances, 17 goals)
2. Phil Chisnall
Phil Chisnall is a name that many a trivia boffin knows well, but not for anything he did on a football pitch. After joining Liverpool from United in 1964, the retired inside forward still remains the last player ever to be transferred directly between the two clubs.
Though the pair are fierce competitors now, it was quite different in the 1960s. Bill Shankly was only just laying the foundations for Liverpool, while United had already been a dominant force for some time.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo about it in 2013, Chisnall said, "It amazes me that no player has moved since. But the rivalry was not the same then. Liverpool were champions in 1964, but they were only promoted in 1962 and United were a much bigger club."
Manchester United: 1959 - 1964 (47 appearances, 10 goals)
Liverpool: 1964 - 1967 (9 appearances, 2 goals)
*the video features a game Chisnall played for Manchester United against Tottenham in 1963 during which he wore the number 8 shirt.
1. Michael Owen
Michael Owen's career can easily be split into two distinct halves. As a young player he lit up Premier League and European football with electrifying displays for Liverpool and England, all of which earned him a move to Real Madrid in 2004.
However a devastating knee injury at the 2006 World Cup, just months after a broken foot, all but ended his chances of hitting those heights ever again.
Having previously scored 158 goals in just under 300 appearances for Liverpool, Owen joined Manchester United on a free transfer from Newcastle in the summer of 2009. His career at Old Trafford was mainly characterised by substitute appearances, but he endeared himself to fans with a dramatic 96th minute winner in a Manchester derby.
Liverpool: 1996 - 2004 (297 appearances, 158 goals)
Manchester United: 2009 - 2012 (49 appearances, 17 goals)