According to The Athletic, Manchester United and Liverpool have not exchanged first-team players for over 60 years, with the last such transfer being Phil Chisnall's move to Liverpool for £25,000 in 1964. However, recent transfers of young players suggest that this stalemate may be weakening at the academy level.

Last week, attention was drawn to Isaac Conde's departure from Liverpool's U18 to Manchester United. The 16-year-old, who made six appearances for Liverpool last season, signed a five-year contract with Manchester United on Wednesday and will join Darren Fletcher's Manchester United U18 squad. In 2021, another young player, Ethan Ennis, made a similar move in the opposite direction—he transferred to Stockport County from Manchester United's academy. Ennis was notable at the time because he was the first player to move between the two clubs in 57 years.

Despite a few near-completed deals, first-team transfers between Manchester United and Liverpool have not occurred for over 60 years, since Phil Chisnall's £25,000 move (approximately $33,000 at today's exchange rate) to Anfield in 1964. Although the two clubs are geographically close in northwest England, and most Liverpool players actually live near Manchester, with both teams often competing for the same players, England's two most popular clubs simply do not do business at first-team level.

Gabriel Heinze was the most infamous recent case—nearly two decades ago, it was widely believed he was on the verge of moving to Merseyside—and Gary Neville confronted Jordi Cruyff years ago when he heard rumors that Cruyff might join Liverpool. But Chisnall remains the last senior player to complete a direct transfer between the clubs.

In 2004, I visited Chisnall at his home in Urmston, west of Manchester (he passed away in 2012 at age 78), near where I grew up.

Locally, he was known as a worker at the malt loaf factory on Stretford Road and as a former Manchester United player—he made 47 appearances as an inside forward for Manchester United, scoring 10 goals, playing alongside legends such as Denis Law, David Herd, Bobby Charlton, George Best, Nobby Stiles, and Johnny Giles.

Chisnall, a Manchester United supporter from Stretford south of Old Trafford, signed apprentice forms with his local club two months after the Munich air disaster in 1958. He represented Lancashire and England at schoolboy level. He played for Manchester United's youth team alongside Stiles and broke into the first team at age 19. "We stopped for steak and chips before the match," he recalled of his debut against Everton in 1961, "and then we lost 5-1. But I kept my place anyway."

Chisnall, earning £12 per week as a Manchester United first-team player, lost his place during the 1963-64 season, which led to Liverpool's approach. It was not major news and caused barely a ripple. He received no abuse from either set of supporters.

"(United manager) Busby told me he'd had an offer from Shankly (Liverpool manager Bill Shankly), but nobody was pushing me out," he explained. "I was only 22, and for better or worse, I decided to make the move. I thought I could get into Liverpool's starting XI and restart my career.

"Sitting in a room watching Busby and Shankly discuss my future was something special. They were like father and son, with enormous respect for each other."

At Liverpool, Chisnall became known for a different reason ten years later—he was the first player captured touching the ball in the iconic BBC programme Match of the Day when it debuted at the start of the 1964-65 season. But he did not succeed at Anfield, making only a handful of appearances.

"Perhaps I wasn't aggressive enough," he said. "I saw football as a game, a good way to earn money and enjoy life, not as a matter of life and death." But he inadvertently became part of the statistics.

"I was surprised that no one moved after that," Chisnall said, "but the rivalry was different then. Liverpool were champions in 1964, but they'd only just come up from the lower divisions in 1962, while Manchester United was the big club."

In the decades that followed, not only were there no transfers between Manchester United and Liverpool, but mere rumors of a link to Anfield were enough to cause concern at Old Trafford.

"The story was baseless, but Gary Neville came into the dressing room and interrogated me about reports linking me with Liverpool," confirmed Cruyff. "He told me I couldn't sign for 'them.' I wound him up a bit, and he was very angry.

"But I understood. Moving from Ajax to Feyenoord (in his home country) is unacceptable, as is moving from Barcelona to Real Madrid or from Manchester United to Liverpool."

Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze was one player who genuinely wanted to move from Old Trafford to Anfield.

"When I returned for pre-season training in 2007, Gabriel Heinze told the players he was moving to Liverpool," recalled his Manchester United teammate Patrice Evra. "He said goodbye to us, and we watched him pack his boots."

The Frenchman, who had only arrived from Monaco a year earlier, may not have fully understood the historical rivalry between the two clubs, but he would soon learn. The matter went to a Premier League arbitration tribunal, where Liverpool argued it should be allowed to buy Heinze, while Manchester United accused Liverpool of making unauthorized contact.

Sir Alex Ferguson was uncompromising, despite Liverpool's hopes of pushing through a deal worth £6.8 million. He stated: "I can assure you that Liverpool will not get Gabriel Heinze. We've had a few offers and we've rejected them all."

The previously cordial relationship between Manchester United and Liverpool deteriorated over the Heinze affair.

"For a month, Gabi did nothing while a decision was being made in Manchester United's favor, and then we learned that Gabi was moving to Real Madrid," Evra recalled.

"Although he later regretted his impulsiveness and stubbornness in trying to force through the move, Gabi was unhappy with Ferguson at the time. I think he expected to be first choice after returning from injury, but I'd already established myself at left-back. It was difficult for Gabi. Before I arrived, he was Player of the Year. But that's football."

And so the record stood.

In April of this year, I was passing through Manchester Airport and saw a group of young Liverpool players, probably around 14 years old. Their coach called out to me—it was Michael Thomas, the former Liverpool midfielder and Arsenal legend. He explained he was taking the team to continental Europe for a tournament.

We exchanged pleasantries, and I asked about his players, their skill level, and where they were from. "Many from Manchester," Thomas replied with a smile.

This, combined with Conde's move last week, suggests increased player movement at the academy level. But for now, at least, Chisnall remains the last senior player to directly transfer between Manchester United and Liverpool, making it one of football's rarest transfer routes.

Переведено ИИ.

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