Players who played for Manchester United and Stoke City

Which footballers have played for both Manchester United and Stoke City? It's exactly the kind of link that wins rounds of The Connection, our football trivia game. Every player below has been checked against his career record, including loan spells.

Quick quiz: how many can you name before you look? There are 7 in our list.

Show all 7 players

Player	Country	Manchester United	Stoke City
Garth Crooks	England	1983–1984 loan	1976–1980
Mickey Thomas	Wales	1978–1981	1982–1984 & 1990–1991
Danny Higginbotham	England / Gibraltar	1997–2000	2006–2007 & 2008–2013
Phil Bardsley	England / Scotland	2003–2008	2014–2017
Ben Foster	England	2005–2010	–
Nick Powell	England	2012–2016	2019–2023
Axel Tuanzebe	DR Congo	2015–2023	2023 loan

Quick facts

7 players in our verified list have played for both Manchester United and Stoke City.
The most common countries are England (5), Wales (1), DR Congo (1).
The earliest in our list is Garth Crooks; the most recent is Axel Tuanzebe.
2 players made the link through a loan spell, including Garth Crooks.

Test yourself

In The Connection you get two clubs and a country, and the first to name a player who links them wins the point. Try it with your mates, or take on today's daily.

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