{"id":672322,"date":"2026-07-11T08:42:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T12:42:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=672322"},"modified":"2026-07-11T08:42:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T12:42:47","slug":"players-to-play-for-manchester-united-and-chelsea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2026\/07\/11\/players-to-play-for-manchester-united-and-chelsea\/","title":{"rendered":"Notable Players to play for Manchester United and Chelsea"},"content":{"rendered":"

With rumours all but confirmed<\/a>, Andrey Santos’ move to Old Trafford sees him become the latest in a long line of players to play for Manchester United and Chelsea.<\/p>\n

Not all have been successful, with the likes of Mark Bosnich and Jadon Sancho failing to hit the heights and Radamel Falcao having a pair of loan moves to forget. It might be too early to judge Alejandro Garnacho\u2019s time at Stamford Bridge but he performed reasonably for United throughout his three year stint in the first team. George Graham played for both, however, is much better known for his time at Arsenal, both on the pitch and in the dugout. Paul Parker’s four Chelsea appearances don’t warrant a place on our list, unfortunately.<\/span><\/p>\n

For two highly regarded teams to have so many shared players is unusual, as often teams will see this as potentially strengthening a rival. With that being said, let\u2019s take a look at some of the most well known players to play for both Manchester United and Chelsea.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most Notable Players to Play for Manchester United and Chelsea<\/span><\/h2>\n

Mason Mount<\/span><\/h2>\n

Former fan favourite, Mason Mount is one of the more recent players to play for Manchester United and Chelsea. Moving in 2023 on a five year deal, Mount cost United \u00a355 million. He took the <\/span>iconic number seven shirt<\/span><\/a>, however, hasn\u2019t lived up to the legends who have previously worn the shirt.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read More<\/strong>: Projected Chelsea Squad 2026-2027<\/a><\/p>\n

At Chelsea, he performed consistently, making 195 appearances in four seasons. Heading into his fourth season at United, he\u2019s mustered up just 72 appearances. He\u2019s suffered several injuries that have kept him out of action at Old Trafford, however, there\u2019s no denying that Mount hasn\u2019t lived up to the Champions League winning midfielder that they signed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Romelu Lukaku<\/span><\/h3>\n

One of the more notable players to play for Manchester United and Chelsea is striker, Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian had a short stint at Chelsea before moving to Everton. It was at Goodison Park where he caught the eye of United boss, Jose Mourinho and would go on to notch an impressive 16 league goals in his first season. After just two seasons, Lukaku would be sold to Inter Milan, despite scoring 64 goals in 95 appearances for United.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read More:\u00a0<\/strong>Chelsea Players Who Can Improve the Most Under Xabi Alonso<\/a><\/p>\n

He would make a sensational return to Chelsea seven years after originally leaving. Costing The Blues a <\/span>reported \u00a397.5 million<\/span><\/a>, it\u2019s safe to say that the return didn\u2019t work out. He clashed with then boss, Thomas Tuchel and would be loaned back to Inter and then to Roma before a permanent move to Napoli saw him close the Chelsea chapter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Juan Mata<\/span><\/h3>\n

One of the most underappreciated players on the list of players to play for Manchester United and Chelsea is without a doubt, the Spanish maestro, Juan Mata. Moving from Valencia to Chelsea in 2011, the Spaniard made 135 appearances in blue across just three seasons. He would win the FA Cup, Champions League and Europa League during his short stay at Stamford Bridge and this success would secure his move to Old Trafford in 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read More<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/span>Manchester United Wonderkids Who Didn\u2019t Make It: Giuseppe Rossi<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Mata would spend nine seasons at Old Trafford and endure a turbulent time with various different managers and off the pitch struggles behind the scenes. Mata was largely deployed from the right, although was more than comfortable in an attacking midfield position. He would score 51 goals and record 44 assists during his 285 games in red.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nemanja Matic<\/span><\/h3>\n

Another name who tends to go under the radar is Nemanja Matic. Like Lukaku, Matic had two stints at Chelsea, first signing in 2009 before re-signing in 2013 after a stint in Portugal. He would become a two-time Premier League winner during his time at Chelsea and anchor the midfield alongside Cesc Fabregas.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read More: <\/strong>Manchester United wonderkids who didn\u2019t make it: Federico Macheda<\/a><\/p>\n

He would make the move over to Old Trafford for \u00a340 million, however, wouldn\u2019t have as much success in Manchester as he did in London. He spent five seasons in red but was never truly accepted by the United faithful, arguably due to his Chelsea background.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Juan Sebastian Veron<\/span><\/h3>\n

Arriving in England with plenty of hype, Juan Sebastian Veron came from Lazio with the potential to make a huge splash in the Premier League. What played out, however, was a player that struggled to adapt to the pace of the league. Despite being an Argentine international, Veron couldn\u2019t adapt to the Premier League\u2019s style and the high expectations of Sir Alex Ferguson.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe it was the Manchester weather that Veron didn\u2019t like and a switch down to London would suit him better. Chelsea paid \u00a315 million for him after two seasons. Injuries meant that he mustered up just seven league appearances in Chelsea blue before several loan moves saw him eventually sign for Estudiantes permanently in 2007. A stint in England to forget for Veron, Ferguson and Ranieri and arguably one of the most disappointing players to play for Manchester United and Chelsea.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Mark Hughes<\/span><\/h3>\n

From United, to Barcelona, a stint at Bayern Munich, back to United and then to Chelsea, it\u2019s safe to say Mark Hughes was highly regarded in the 1980s and 1990s. Beginning his career at United in 1980, Hughes would make 121 total appearances during his first stint in Manchester, scoring 47.<\/span><\/p>\n

After a pair of seasons abroad, the forward would re-sign for United and go on to make a further 352 appearances scoring 116 goals. He sits ninth on United\u2019s all time top goal scorers, in between Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes – Great company to hold. He helped United win the European Super Cup, European Cup Winners\u2019 Cup, League Cup, three FA Cups and two Premier Leagues.<\/span><\/p>\n

He would make the move to Chelsea in 1995 and go on to make an impressive 123 appearances in Blue. Although he wouldn\u2019t win as much as he did in Red, Hughes helped Chelsea to an FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup Winner\u2019s Cup.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ray Wilkins<\/span><\/h3>\n

With over 400 combined appearances for both teams, Ray Wilkins is one of the great players to play for Manchester United and Chelsea.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kicking off his career in 1973 at Chelsea, the midfielder would stick by Chelsea through relegation and promotion. He would make 207 total appearances, scoring 35 goals. He became captain at just 18 years old and would go on to become one of the most well respected players in Chelsea\u2019s history.<\/span><\/p>\n

He would make the move north to United after Chelsea were relegated in 1979. He would help the reds to win the FA Cup in 1983 and would make a total of 194 appearances for United. His impressive performances for United would see him sign for AC Milan in 1984.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With rumours all but confirmed, Andrey Santos’ move to Old Trafford sees him become the latest in a long line of players to play for Manchester United and Chelsea. Not all have been successful, with the likes of Mark Bosnich and Jadon Sancho failing to hit the heights and Radamel Falcao having a pair of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5755,"featured_media":637242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,18,3],"tags":[397,8521,357,2915,1236,8493,299],"class_list":["post-672322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea","category-manchester-united","category-premier-league","tag-juan-mata","tag-juan-sebastian-veron","tag-mark-hughes","tag-mason-mount","tag-nemanja-matic","tag-ray-wilkins","tag-romelu-lukaku"],"modified_by":"Ricky Carroll, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5755"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672322"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":672358,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672322\/revisions\/672358"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/637242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}