It is not commonplace for players to play for both Manchester City and Manchester United.
However, several players have played for both City and United.
Some of the names include Carlos Tevez, Peter Schmeichel, Brian Kidd, Denis Law, Owen Hargreaves, Mark Robins, Andy Cole, Andrei Kanchelskis and Peter Barnes.
Joining a rival team, whether that is directly or eventually is viewed as a cardinal sin in every footballing nation.
Journalist David Ornstein has revealed that for Chelsea to sign Jadon Sancho — who looks set to depart Manchester United either permanently or on loan this summer — Raheem Sterling is one of the candidates the Blues would be happy to send the other way — who is also not in their plans.
However, the full report in The Athletic states that a lot must take place for such a deal to come to fruition.
It has been claimed that Sterling is focused on resolving his contractual situation — with three years still left on his deal with Chelsea.
For Manchester United to go through with signing the 29-year-old, it has also been reported that the deal must make sense to them from both financial and footballing points of view.
How Man City fans are reacting to Sterling to Manchester United rumours
During his time at the Etihad Stadium, the former Liverpool speedster’s time at the club was a resounding success.
The decorated forward scored 131 goals and 73 assists in 339 appearances for City in all competitions — emerging as one of the club’s most important players.
The Kingston-born attacker won four Premier League titles, one FA Cup and five Carabao Cup trophies during his time for the Sky Blues.
The Chelsea wideman spent seven years at City as well — where he especially played a key part in helping Pep Guardiola turn the club into English football’s dominant force.
However, Manchester City supporters have made it clear on social media that they would be far from happy if Sterling made a move to Manchester United.
Raheem Sterling could end any potential status as Man City legend with Man United move
While Sterling was largely brilliant during his time at Manchester City, any potential status he could have as a legend of the club would likely be tarnished amongst the supporters if he headed to Manchester United.
In any case, barring the 2017/2018, 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 campaigns, the ex-Queens Park Rangers goalscorer did not enjoy world-class campaigns in the other four seasons a City shirt.
During the 2016/2017 season, Sterling showcased his class but his performances eventually fizzled out in a term where he markedly improved from his debut campaign.
However, it would be inaccurate not to claim that the England international was one of the best players in the world for a period during his spell at Manchester City.
But if Sterling were to sign for City’s biggest rivals in Manchester United, he could sour his status with the fans.
There were not even any links close to the likes of Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure to name a few ever even considering a move to Old Trafford.
As a result, Sterling could be risking his relationship with the supporters at the club where he tasted the most success if he decided to head to the red side of Manchester.
