Played for Both Sides: Chelsea & Liverpool
Liverpool vs Chelsea may not be one of English football’s traditional rivalries, but matches between these two clubs have become more hotly contested this millennium.
We’ve picked out some of the players who have sampled life on both sides of the divide, representing both the Reds and the Blues at various stages of their careers.
But did Liverpool or Chelsea get the better deal?
Words: Joe Nicholson
15. Fabio Borini
Borini’s biggest contribution towards either club's pursuit of silverware came in a Sunderland shirt in 2014, when the Italian striker scored a late penalty at Stamford Bridge to severely dent Chelsea’s title hopes.
It was in west London where his professional career began, but the Italian striker made just four Premier League appearances for the Blues and only really made a name for himself during a loan spell at Swansea in 2011.
He briefly returned to Italy before Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers - who was also Borini's manager in south Wales - snapped him up in 2012. The forward played 38 times for the club in total, but scored only three goals and frequently looked out of his depth.
Rating per club: Chelsea 3/10, Liverpool 3/10
14. Victor Moses
Moses' days at Stamford Bridge appeared to be numbered before Antonio Conte's arrival in 2016. The former Crystal Palace man had been sent out on loan three times since joining Chelsea in 2012, but the Blues' current boss converted him into a wing-back and Moses has hardly looked back since.
A Premier League title winner in 2016/17, the Nigeria international had come painfully close to lifting the same trophy back in 2013/14. With the first of those aforementioned loan spells taking him to Liverpool, Moses made 19 league appearances for Brendan Rodgers' men as they were narrowly beaten to top spot by Manchester City.
Rating per club: Chelsea 7/10, Liverpool 3/10
13. Boudewijn Zenden
With a two-season stint at Middlesbrough sandwiched in between, Zenden represented both the Blues and the Reds between 2001 and 2007.
Zenden signed for Claudio Ranieri’s Chelsea from Barcelona in summer 2001, but struggled to nail down a first-team place due to persistent injuries. He left Stamford Bridge at the dawn of the Roman Abramovich era and, after winning the League Cup with Boro, joined Liverpool in 2005.
The technically gifted Dutchman played 47 times for Rafa Benitez’s team over a two-year spell, helping Liverpool reach the 2007 Champions League final.
Rating per club: Chelsea 6/10, Liverpool 6/10
12. Mohamed Salah
Salah's Liverpool career is still in its infancy, but he could hardly have envisaged a better start. Indeed, the Egyptian's brace in November's victory over Southampton took his goal tally to nine in his first 12 Premier League appearances - breaking a club record previously held by Robbie Fowler.
Chelsea may be kicking themselves. They afforded Salah very few first-team opportunities after beating the Reds to his signature in January 2014. The forward was given only six top-flight starts at Stamford Bridge, switching to Serie A just 12 months into a five-and-a-half-year contract.
Rating per club: Chelsea 3/10, Liverpool 8/10
11. Raul Meireles
One year, two cups: heavily tattooed midfielder Meireles picked up two trophies during his short stay in London, winning the FA Cup and Champions League in his only season with the Blues in 2011/12.
Before that, he also spent a single campaign at Anfield, playing 41 times for Liverpool in 2010/11 and being voted the PFA Fans' Player of the Year. His popularity on Merseyside soon took a nosedive, however, as Meireles asked to be transfer listed before moving to Chelsea on transfer deadline day.
Rating per club: Chelsea 7/10, Liverpool 7/10
10. Glen Johnson
West Ham youth graduate Johnson switched to Stamford Bridge after just 15 Premier League appearances, when the Hammers' relegation was followed by the Abramovich takeover – he was the first signing under the new regime. Despite winning the title in 2004/05, he never really convinced at Stamford Bridge and only kick-started his career after moving to Portsmouth.
Impressive performances brought a big-money switch to Liverpool in 2009, with the Reds paying £17.5m (and beating Chelsea to his signature). Johnson played regularly under Roy Hodgson, Kenny Dalglish and Brendan Rodgers at Anfield, while also establishing himself as England’s first-choice right-back between 2009 and 2014.
Rating per club: Chelsea 5/10, Liverpool 8/10
9. Yossi Benayoun
Israel's most famous footballer was a consistent performer at Liverpool, playing 134 times at a time when Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and Xavi Alonso all graced the Anfield turf.
Benayoun’s highlights included a stunning solo goal against Reading in the 2007/08 League Cup, a dramatic late equaliser in a 4-4 draw with Arsenal and an 83rd minute winner in Liverpool’s 1-0 Champions League victory over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
In 2010, Chelsea paid a reported £5.5m to lure Benayoun to London, but the attacker featured just 24 times in three years amid loan spells at Arsenal and West Ham.
Rating per club: Chelsea 5/10, Liverpool 8/10
8. David Speedie
The former Scotland international is best known for his formidable strike partnership with Kerry Dixon at Chelsea. At 5ft 7in, Speedie relied on his tireless work rate and sharp eye for goal to become a success in his six years at Stamford Bridge.
After making over 150 appearances for the Blues, Speedie left for Coventry in 1987; four years later, he was Kenny Dalglish's last Liverpool signing before the manager’s shock resignation. Speedie marked an impressive debut with a goal at Old Trafford and netted twice against Everton, but new boss Graeme Souness sold him to Blackburn – who promptly appointed Dalglish...
Rating per club: Chelsea 8/10, Liverpool 6/10
7. Alf Hanson
The late Hanson will be remembered as a skilful left winger who loved to cut in from the flank before firing at goal. Prior to the Second World War, he spent six years with the Reds and was part of the side which defeated local rivals Everton 7-4.
In 1938, the wide man signed for Chelsea for a club record £7,500. He spent a single successful season with the Londoners before the Second World War effectively ended his top-class career.
Rating per club: Chelsea 6/10, Liverpool 8/10
6. Daniel Sturridge
A 19-year-old Daniel Sturridge arrived at Chelsea with bags of potential and an impressive goalscoring record at youth level after signing from Manchester City in 2009. At the time, he was the only player to score in the FA Youth Cup, FA Cup and Premier League in the same season, but things never quite took off for the striker in west London.
Sturridge moved to Liverpool at the age of 23 and, in his first full campaign at the club, formed a stunning partnership with Luis Suarez, which saw the pair net 52 league goals between them. That wasn't quite enough to bring Brendan Rodgers' side the title, though, and Sturridge has struggled ever since, with injuries and increased competition.
Rating per club: Chelsea 5/10, Liverpool 7/10
5. Nigel Spackman
An energetic midfielder who could operate in almost any position on the park, Spackman's unrelenting energy and versatility made him a regular in Chelsea’s side between 1983 and 1987, as he helped the Blues win promotion from the Second Division.
After falling out of favour with John Hollins, Spackman was sold to Liverpool, where he made over 50 appearances – winning the 1988 First Division title but losing the FA Cup final to Wimbledon. He got his own line in cult single The Anfield Rap, but unlike Chelsea, Liverpool didn't name a stadium reception area after him.
Rating per club: Chelsea 9/10, Liverpool 7/10
4. Joey Jones
Jones spent two and a half years at his boyhood club Liverpool after signing from Wrexham for £110,000 in 1975. The left-back played his best football under Bob Paisley and helped the Reds lift the 1977 European Cup, before being sold back to Wrexham due to the emergence of Alan Hansen.
Jones ended up at Chelsea four years later and was once again a huge hit with supporters because of his tenacious tackling and passionate performances, with the defender helping the Blues seal promotion to the top flight in 1984.
Rating per club: Chelsea 8/10, Liverpool 8/10
3. Joe Cole
One of the first signings following Roman Abramovich’s takeover in 2003, Cole was intended to replace the departed Gianfranco Zola. He wasn't that good – few are – but he remained a mainstay throughout the rest of the decade. The agile winger won three Premier League titles, three FA Cups, two League Cups and the English Super Cup in seven trophy-laden years in the capital, before joining Liverpool on a free in 2010.
It looked like a shrewd piece of business at the time, with Steven Gerrard even likening Cole to Lionel Messi. Things didn’t work out for him at Anfield, though, with the ex-West Ham man limited to just nine Premier League starts despite spending three years on the club’s books.
Rating per club: Chelsea 9/10, Liverpool 3/10
2. Nicolas Anelka
A man of many clubs, Anelka spent the second half of 2001/02 on loan at Liverpool from PSG, playing 22 times in all competitions. He only scored five, and Gerard Houllier opted to sign El-Hadji Diouf instead.
After spells with Manchester City, Fenerbahce and Bolton, the French frontman bagged 19 Premier League goals in his first full season at Stamford Bridge, earning him the 2008/09 Golden Boot award. A year later Anelka clinched his second Premier League title under Carlo Ancelotti, before leaving Chelsea in 2012 with an admirable record of 59 goals in 188 appearances.
Rating per club: Chelsea 9/10, Liverpool 5/10
1. Fernando Torres
It’s hard to fathom how the lethal marksman who signed for Liverpool back in 2007 could be the same player who struggled to perform at Stamford Bridge a few years later.
Torres was prolific under Rafa Benitez after joining the Reds from Atletico Madrid for £20m. He terrorised Premier League defences with his devastating pace and razor-sharp finishing, which enabled the Spaniard to score 65 goals in 102 top-flight games for Liverpool.
Yet following a deadline-day switch to Chelsea in January 2010, Torres looked like a shadow of his former self, scoring four in his first 42 league games and failing to surpass eight league goals in any of his four seasons with the Blues. He did, however, seal a memorable Champions League semi-final victory over Barcelona at the Camp Nou.
Rating per club: Chelsea 6/10, Liverpool 10/10
Overall club ratings: Chelsea 96, Liverpool 97
