Paul Ince recently reflected on his career, which included spells at Liverpool and Manchester United
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More information Paul Ince has denied committing a “cardinal sin” by moving to Liverpool after previously being a Manchester United player as he did not make the transfer directly. Throughout history, it is rare for players to play for both clubs, given their intense rivalry.
Since 1964 there has been no direct transfer from Old Trafford to Anfield and vice versa, only those who made the move indirectly to a former rival. Ince was one of those players.
He played for United between 1989 and 1995, making 267 appearances and scoring 27 goals. During this time he won two Premier League titles, two FA Cups, one League Cup and one European Cup Winners’ Cup.
But during his six-year stay in Manchester, the Ilford-born midfielder clashed with manager Sir Alex Ferguson, leading to his sale to Inter Milan for £7.5 million . He eventually returned to England in 1997 and joined a team he once considered a bitter rival.
However, Ince does not see his move to Anfield as a betrayal of his former club.”I always thought – and I said it time and time again – that there was no disrespect to either team, but I would never go directly from Manchester United to Liverpool, or from Liverpool directly to Manchester United. He is a cardinal. shame,” he told talkSPORT.
He also explained that United waived the right to re-sign him before he completed his move to Liverpool.”When I left for Inter, I didn’t want to leave Manchester United. When I returned from Inter Milan, I was initially rejected by Man United.
I could have easily gone back to Manchester United – they rejected the decision to take me back.”I don’t know if I would have gone back, but I just know that I had two years left at Inter and I had three years left on my contract.
Obviously the family situation was difficult, so we came back .“Peter Robinson came from Liverpool, we sat down and had lunch, we agreed I would go down that route.
I love the Northwest. I spent six or seven years there at United, I knew Jamie Redknapp, Robbie Fowler and David James, so it was easy to settle in.
When he joined the Reds at the age of 29, Ince scored 17 goals in 81 matches.
He thought of one: against United in front of the Kop, where he equalized in a 2-2 draw in 1999, before celebrating wildly.
However, this would be one of his last contributions as he left for Middlesbrough following a disagreement with Gérard Houllier.
