The 6 most notable players who have played for Liverpool and Newcastle

To date, 29 men have represented both Liverpool and Newcastle United. This list includes some of the biggest legends in the two club's respective histories. So, we've highlighted the six most notable figures, ahead of the Magpies welcome the reds to St James' Park on the opening weekend of the Premier League season on 23 August.

Alexander Isak

Years at Liverpool: 2025-present. Years at Newcastle United: 2022-2025.

The main character when Liverpool travel to Tyneside next month will, without question, be Alexander Isak. The Swede was a god in the North East, scoring 62 goals in 109 appearances for the Magpies, including netting in the EFL Cup Final as they beat Liverpool, securing the club's first domestic silverware for 70 years. Now though, Isak is detested, public enemy number one having gone on strike to force through a record-breaking £130 million move to Liverpool.

Well, since leaving, he is yet to feature against Newcastle. Last season's meeting at St James' came while he was on strike, before missing the reverse fixture due to a broken fibula. Fair to say, he will not be welcomed back by supporters who once adored him.

Kevin Keegan

Years at Liverpool: 1971-77. Years at Newcastle United: 1982-84.

Ahead of this upcoming Premier League clash, tributes will be paid to Kevin Keegan. He sadly died at the age of 75 from stomach cancer in mid-July, making it fitting that his two former clubs will commence their campaigns against one-another. During six years at Liverpool, he scored 100 goals and won nine major honours, on target during both UEFA Cup Final victories over Borussia Mönchengladbach and Club Brugge.

He departed the Reds for Hamburg, die Rothosen paying a British-record £500,000, with whom he was awarded two Ballon d'Ors. Keegan ended up at Newcastle towards the end of his career, netting 49 times in only 85 outings for the Magpies. He later managed Newcastle, leading them to back-to-back second place finishes, their best campaigns since 1927, very nearly winning the league in '96, but his entertainers relinquished a 14 point lead in the end. Nevertheless, Keegan is loved on both Tyneside and Merseyside, hence why fans of both were so devastated to learn of his passing.

Peter Beardsley

Years at Liverpool: 1987-1991. Years at Newcastle United: 1983-87 & 1993-97.

Another player held in high regard by both Geordies and Scousers is Peter Beadsley. 499 of his 644 senior club appearances (77%) came for one of the two clubs. Across two spells at Newcastle, he scored 121 goals, a tally only four men can better in the club's entire history.

The first time he left Newcastle was for Liverpool in 1987, winning two First Division titles and an FA Cup while at Anfield, starting the 1989 final victory over Everton at Wembley. In total, he netted 59 times for the Reds before crossing the city divide to join Everton, but is still revered by every fanbase he represented.

Andy Carroll

Years at Liverpool: 2011-2013. Years at Newcastle United: 2006-11 & 2019-21.

Before Alexnader Isak, there was Andy Carroll. After scoring 11 goals across the first half of the 2010/11 Premier League campaign, he joined Liverpool on deadline day in January. The Reds paid £35 million for his services, unveiling Luis Suárez at the same time, arriving from Ajax for £23 million, the pair brought in to replace Fernardo Torres, who'd joined Chelsea for £50 million.

Suárez would prove to be a Liverpool legend, which is just as well, given that Carroll did not justify the price tag that made him, at the time, the most expensive British player ever. He scored only 11 goals for the Reds, sold to West Ham for £15 million two and a half years later, a massive loss. As he battled against injury issues, Carroll then rejoined Newcastle towards the end of his career, the animosity towards him having subsided, scoring only once during his second spell at St James' Park.

Michael Owen

Years at Liverpool: 1996-2004. Years at Newcastle United: 2005-2009.

Next up is a rare example of a player not particularly loved by either Liverpool nor Newcastle fans. That is not to say Michael Owen was not good for either club. At Liverpool, where he broke through, the youngster was electrifying, scoring 158 goals in 297 appearances. He was integral in Gérard Houllier's team that won the cup treble in 2001, scoring twice in the final seven minutes to dramatically beat Arsenal in the FA Cup Final in Cardiff. That year, at the age of just 22, he won the Ballon d'Or, the only Englishman since Keegan in 1980 to do so.

Owen then joined Real Madrid in 2004, but really destroyed his Liverpool legacy by signing for Manchester United in 2009, winning a Premier League title under Sir Alex Ferguson. Before that, he'd spent four seasons at Newcastle, arriving from Real Madrid for £16 million, which was the club-record fee for a long time. However, he made just 79 appearances for the Magpies, missing almost that many games injured, viewed as a waste of money as injuries derailed his later career.

Ian Rush

Years at Liverpool: 1980-1996. Years at Newcastle United: 1997-1998.

Last, but by no means, one of the biggest legends in Liverpool's history. Ian Rush spent 16 years at Anfield, with a brief sojourn to Juventus in there, scoring 339 goals for the Reds. This remains the club record, 89 more than Mohamed Salah for comparison, suggesting it may never be broken.

During this period, Rush won five First Division titles, two European Cups and 13 other major honours. He was Liverpool's top scorer in eight seperate seasons, a club record, picking up the European Golden Boot in 1983/84, as well as countless other individual accolades. After finally leaving Liverpool for Leeds at the age of 34, he spent one season at Newcastle, making only 14 appearances and scoring just two goals, these against Everton and Hull in cup competitions. Suffice to say, he is more beloved by one fanbase than the other.

Every player to have played for Liverpool and Newcastle United

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