They played for both Manchester clubs – but who got the better deal?

Manchester United and Manchester City share a fierce local rivalry which has only grown in significance in the last decade, with the pair having gone head-to-head in Premier League contention.

Despite the hostility, a number of players have turned out for both Manchester clubs. We pick out some in this slideshow, before deciding whether it's United or City who got the best deal overall...

Birmingham-born Cooke signed for United as a teenager in 1994. The midfielder won the FA Youth Cup alongside Phil Neville and Ronnie Wallwork the following year, but he was restricted to just eight first-team appearances amid a series of loan spells, the last of which came across town at Maine Road.

Five goals in 17 games persuaded City to sign Cooke on a permanent deal in 1999, but the £1m man didn’t live up to his early promise, playing just 20 league matches in three years and again spending a significant amount of time on loan.

Welshman Davies came to prominence with Bolton in the 1960s, scoring 66 goals in 155 league games across a four-year spell. The forward’s clinical touch earned him a transfer to Newcastle, before City came calling in 1971.

Davies only spent a single season at Maine Road, but he was virtually ever-present as Malcolm Allison’s side finished fourth and qualified for the UEFA Cup. A return of just eight league goals was perhaps part of the reason why City were willing to sell the frontman to United, though. His goals-per-game ratio was much better at Old Trafford (four in 16), but he didn’t play enough to stick around for more than a year.

After spending a decade at Bayern Munich, the Canada-born England international signed for United for £17m in 2007. He played an important role in his debut campaign, making 34 appearances in all competitions as Alex Ferguson’s men won the Premier League title and the Champions League, with Hargreaves deployed on the right side of midfield in the final against Chelsea.

Yet injuries soon struck, and Hargreaves managed just five outings in his final three seasons at the club. City agreed a deal with him in 2011 despite significant fitness doubts, but the midfielder played just once in the Premier League before retiring the following summer.

Born and bred in Manchester, Barnes began his career at City in the mid-1970s. The left winger was named PFA Young Player of the Year at the age of 18 after scoring in the triumphant 1976 League Cup final, while he made a total of 115 top-flight appearances for the Citizens in his five years at the club as a professional.

After spells with Real Betis and West Brom, the 22-time England international was sent on loan to United by parent club Leeds in 1984. He didn’t play a single league game during that time, but Barnes made the permanent move to Old Trafford a year later, playing 25 times for the Red Devils under Ron Atkinson and Alex Ferguson. He briefly returned to City, but was let go after just eight league outings.

Eight years after George Best made the move from Belfast to Old Trafford, McIlroy followed in his compatriot’s footsteps. Matt Busby’s final signing as United boss in 1969, the midfielder was a mainstay in his 11 years at Old Trafford, playing 419 times in all competitions and helping the club return to the First Division following an ignominious relegation in 1974, and win the FA Cup three years later.

McIlroy later joined City in 1985, but his time at Maine Road wasn’t anywhere near as successful: the future Northern Ireland manager made only 16 first-team appearances before moving on to Örgryte in Sweden.

A United legend and arguably the greatest goalkeeper in Premier League history, Schmeichel played a starring role in all five of the club’s title triumphs in the 1990s. The Great Dane also won three FA Cups and the Champions League, rounding off his Old Trafford career with that famous come-from-behind victory over Bayern Munich at the Camp Nou.

United struggled to find an adequate replacement for Schmeichel, who departed for Sporting CP in 1999. He was back in Manchester three years later, playing 29 Premier League games for a City side that finished ninth under Kevin Keegan.

After notching a remarkable 68 goals in 85 games for Newcastle, Cole switched his allegiance to United in January 1995. He continued to find the net with regularity, scoring 12 times in 18 league appearances in his first half-season at Old Trafford; a slight slowdown followed in the next couple of years, before Cole came roaring back in 1997/98, the season before United won a treble of Premier League title, FA Cup and Champions League.

By the time of his departure in 2002, the striker had scored 121 goals for the Red Devils. His ratio in a single season at City in 2005/06 wasn’t to be sniffed at – 10 in 23 matches – but Cole opted against extending his stay, instead heading to the south coast to sign for Portsmouth.

Not only did Kidd play for both United and City, he’s also spent time on both clubs’ coaching staff - he’s currently working alongside Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium. Those who remember him as a player will associate Kidd more with United, though: the forward was part of the Red Devils’ European Cup-winning team of 1968, playing over 250 times between 1967 and 1974.

He didn’t make as many appearances at City, nor did he win a single piece of silverware at Maine Road, but Kidd’s record across town is arguably more impressive. The forward scored 57 goals in 128 games for the Citizens, which dwarfs his tally of 70 in 266 outings for United.

Ardwick Association Football Club became Manchester City in 1894, the year Meredith joined the club from Northwich Victoria. The Welshman would end up staying for 12 years, during which time he won the Second Division title and the FA Cup, as well as scoring 134 goals as an outside forward.

Nicknamed “Old Skinny” for his slender frame, Meredith moved across Manchester to join United in 1906. There he added another FA Cup winner’s medal to his collection and also helped the Red Devils to two top-tier titles, although he only contributed 36 goals in his 335 games for the club. Meredith returned to City for the final three years of his career, hanging up his boots in 1924.

The highest-profile player to move directly from United to City, Tevez was an integral part of the Red Devils side which won the Premier League and Champions League in his debut campaign, with the Argentinian shining alongside Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo in a fearsome frontline.

Tevez shocked the whole of Manchester by opting to sign for City after the expiration of his complex two-year loan deal at United. The striker scored 73 goals in his four seasons at the Etihad and won the FA Cup and Premier League title along the way, although he only played a small part in the latter triumph after being suspended by the club for refusing to warm up in a Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.

One of United’s greatest ever players, Law was part of a trio – alongside George Best and Bobby Charlton – dubbed the “Holy Trinity” by the club’s fans in the 1960s. The Scot’s 237 goals in 404 games rank him as the Red Devils’ third highest scorer of all time, with his unerring finishing helping United to two league titles, an FA Cup and the 1968 European Cup under Matt Busby.

It was actually at City where Law began his Manchester career, finding the net 23 times in 43 matches in 1960/61 to earn himself a move to Torino. The striker then returned to Maine Road at the end of his career, famously scoring against United on the day their relegation from the top flight was confirmed.