Premier League Stars That Have Played for Both Manchester United and Chelsea

There are so many sports players out there who've switched teams through multiple reasons. This can literally happen in any sport. From basketball to football, baseball, and hockey, so many players have traded in their jerseys for a new look to their reputation. Reasons for switching can be the coach was too difficult to handle, the players had poor communication with others, and then there's money involved. It's true. Other teams can offer much more pay in order to get that player on their team.

And among those sports where players are constantly changing teams is the English football league. In fact, there are players who've played in both Manchester United and Chelsea, which are both in the most successful clubs in Premier League history. There aren't just one or two players, but a couple who've switched from one team to the other. Check out the Premier League stars that have played for both Manchester United and Chelsea.

Juan Mata

Professional Spanish football player Juan Manuel Mata Gracía, mainly known as Juan Mata, currently plays as a midfielder for English club Manchester United. His skills revolve around central attacking midfielder, but he’s also seen to play on the wing. Shockingly, he’s among the Premier League stars that have played for both Manchester United and Chelsea.

Aside from playing for Real Madrid Castilla and Valencia, Juan played for Chelseas in 2011 and up until 2014. Then he switched to Manchester United for one main reason. After failing out of favor at Chelsea under José Mourinho, Juan was actually sold to Manchester United in January of 2014. He was sold for a fee of £37.1 million.

Mark Hughes

Former football player Mark Hughes played for both Manchester United and Chelsea. Currently, Mark is an appointed manager of Stoke City when he started in May 2013. He’s actually played in many teams and managed multiple teams in return. However, throughout his playing days, Mark has won many medals including two Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, and much more.

Mark goes way back when he played for Manchester United in 1980. For six years, until 1986, he gained about 37 goals for his team. Then he threw in his Manchester jersey for a Chelsea jersey when he was sold to them for £1 million.

Radamel Falcao

Radamel Falcao Gracía Zárate, better known as Radamel Falcao, or just Falcao, is a professional Colombian football player who plays as a striker for Ligue 1 club AS Monaco. He’s also sometimes nicknamed as “El Tigre” or “King of the Europa League,” because of how skillful he is with the ball, and he's also among the best strikers in the Premier League. Even though he started off his football career playing for Lanceros Boyacá, he’s among the Premier League stars who’ve played for both Chelsea and Manchester United.

On September 2014, Manchester United agreed to sign Falcao on a loan for £6 million subject to a medical examination with an option to sign permanently for £43.5 million (€55 million) when the season ends. Then, on July of 2015, Chelsea signed Falcao for a season-long loan deal with the option of a permanent transfer at the end of the season. However, it was later revealed that the fee would be £38 million (€50 million) for a permanent move.

Paul Parker

Paul Andrew Parker, simply known as Paul Parker, is a former professional English football player, manager, and sports television pundit. He’s widely well-known in the Premier League for playing for multiple clubs and teams like Derby County, Fulham, Queens Park Rangers, and others. He’s also among the Premier League stars that have played for both Manchester United and Chelsea.

Paul started playing for Manchester United in 1991 when he was sold by QPR for £2 million in August. He then played for Chelsea in 1996 to 1997 for four games. However, he wasn’t featured in the FA Cup Final triumph that ended Chelsea’s 26-year trophy drought.

Juan Sebastian Veron

Among the Premier League stars, Juan Sebastián Verón has also played for both Manchester United and Chelsea. For a retired Argentine football player, he played and even served as the chairman for Estudiantes de La Plata, where he served as Director of Sports. He was a former midfielder who’s played for many teams and brought success to them.

After the 2000 and 2001 season, Juan transferred to Manchester United on July for a fee of £24.3 million on a five-year deal. This was actually seen as the most expensive transfer in English football during the time. Then Chelsea paid £15 million for him two years on following the arrival of Roman Abramovich. However, Juan mentioned that he was willing to stay and fight for his place at Old Trafford, yet Ferguson allowed Chelsea to talk to him and eventually persuaded him to switch. As for the transfer fee, it was about half of his record-breaking transfer two years before.

Mark Bosnich

Former Australian goalkeeper Mark Bosnich played in England for Premier League clubs like Sydney United, Aston Villa, and others. He’s also represented Australia 17 times within his career and scored one goal for his nation. While he’s a player who played for both Manchester United and Chelsea, he’s played for United for a much longer period of time and played for them twice.

Mark’s football career kicked off when he joined Manchester United at the age of 17. It was a non-contract basis and this basically made his debut for the First Division fixture against Wimbledon in 1990. He then transferred to Sydney United and then to Aston Villa before making it back to United. Mark signed back into United in 1999 but shortly then transferred to Chelsea. In January of 2001, he signed for Chelsea on a free transfer. Because of his fitness and injury problems, this meant that his debut didn’t occur until the following season.

Nemanja Matić

Professional Serbain football player Nemanja Matić plays as a defensive midfielder for multiple teams. While he started off his career as an attacking midfielder, he then changed to a defensive midfielder during his time with Benfica. He’s very well-known for his consistent and talented performance and combative style while playing.

Nemanja is also one of the Premier League stars who was part of Manchester United and Chelsea. In fact, he’s played for Chelsea twice. He started with them in 2009 when he signed for a fee of about £1.5 million on a four-year contract. After leaving Chelsea in 2011, he returned to them in 2014 for a fee of £21 million on a five-and-a-half-year contract. For the majority of his time there, he played as central midfielder in a 3-4-3 formation. Then, in July of 2017, Nemanja’s photo was leaked of him wearing a Manchester United training kit and him signing into the club was confirmed a day later. He signed with a three-year contact with the option for an additional year. And, to this day, Nemanja continues to play for Manchester United.

Romelu Lukaku

Lastly, Romelu Menama Lukaku Bolingoli, also known as Romelu Lukaku, is a Belgian professional football player who’s mainly seen to be as a striker. Believe it or not, he’s one of the five players to score 50 Premier League goals before he turned 23 as well as the fourth player to score 80 goals before turning 24. As amazing as he sounds, Romelu actually holds the all-time record for shooting 31 goals for the Belgian national team. So it's no surprise to find him among the Premier League top scorers of the season.

While he’s accomplished so much at a young age, Romelu actually played for both Manchester United and Chelsea. He joined Chelsea in August of 2011 for a fee that’s seen to be about €12 million. Then in July 2017, Romelu signed a five-year contract with Manchester United with the option for another year.