Which players have played for both Manchester United and Liverpool in the Premier League era?

Manchester United vs Liverpool is one of football's most historic rivalries and one of the longest-running of all-time.

The North West Derby is considered to be the biggest rivalry for both clubs and their supporters, so what happens when a player decides to swap Anfield for Old Trafford – and vice versa?

Goal takes a look at players who have swapped loyalties between the two clubs during the Premier League era and beyond.

Which players have played for both Man Utd & Liverpool in the Premier League?

Only Michael Owen and Paul Ince have played for both clubs during the Premier League era, though neither transferred directly from one club to the other.

Owen is the most notable example, having cemented himself as a Kop idol during his eight seasons at Anfield in which he scored 158 goals in 297 appearances.

At the height of his stardom, Owen completed a move to Real Madrid in 2004, though ended up being a flop. A knee injury sustained during the 2006 World Cup never allowed him to reach the heights he achieved at Liverpool, and after a spell at Newcastle, found himself signing for Liverpool's deepest rivals, Manchester United, in 2009.

Owen has maintained that he had been looking to return to Liverpool ever since leaving the club, even asking former defender Jamie Carragher to convince then-manager Rafael Benitez to sign him, but the move never materialised – and so he snapped up the chance to sign for Sir Alex Ferguson's side as he believed the only other option was to hang his boots.

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"I spoke to Carra and tried to get Benitez to do something. I wanted to try to put it right somehow," said Owen in Simon Hughes' Ring of Fire.

"When it became clear Benitez didn't want to do a deal, I spoke again with [Sir Alex] Ferguson. He was very positive about me. I was 29 years old. Should I have decided to retire there and then?"

Owen remained at Old Trafford for three seasons before retiring in 2013, with Liverpool fans never really quite forgiving him for signing for the Red Devils – viewing his decision as an act of betrayal due to their deep rooted rivalry.

Ince is the only other player to have featured for both sides in the Premier League era, though had a stint at Inter in between. The ex-England midfielder spent six seasons at Man Utd from 1989-95 and spent two seasons in Serie A, before signing with Liverpool and turning out for two seasons at Anfield.

There are tales of some almost-signings, however. In 2007, Man Utd received a bid from Liverpool to sign Gabriel Heinze, but Ferguson's side refused to allow the transfer due to the rivalry. United claimed that their agreement was that Heinze would only be able to sign for a foreign side, should he decide to leave Old Trafford.

Heinze, however, went public with his desire to join the Merseyside club, which didn't go down too well with the Old Trafford faithful. The Argentine was eventually sold to Real Madrid.

“It’s clear he’s a player we like and he’s a very good player,” Reds manager Benitez said at the time. “That’s the reason why they don’t want him to leave for us.

“We made an offer which they rejected."

Which players have played for both Man Utd & Liverpool before the Premier League era?

There are many more examples of players signing for Liverpool from Man Utd and vice versa before the inception of the Premier League in 1992.

Tom Chorlton was the first player to have transferred to Man Utd directly from Liverpool, though Phil Chisnall's move from Old Trafford to Anfield is the last time a player has been directly transferred between the two North West sides.

Peter Beardsley played just once for Man Utd in 1982-83, but became a key player during his four seasons at Liverpool from 1987-91 following spells at Vancouver Whitecaps and Newcastle.

Players who have transferred directly from Liverpool to Man Utd and vice-versa