We've taken a look at 10 prominent stars who played for Sunderland and Liverpool.
Sunderland host Liverpool on Wednesday in a fixture steeped in more history than you may expect.
The two clubs have shared a number of star players over the years, including academy products, title winners and European champions. Here, we’ve taken a look at 10 of the most prominent names, as well as a host of honourable mentions.
1. Jordan Henderson
Born and raised in Sunderland and a product of the club’s academy, Jordan Henderson played 79 times for his boyhood club between 2008 and 2011, scoring five goals. That was enough to prompt Liverpool to spend £20million to acquire his services in the summer of 2011.
The first half of Henderson’s time at Anfield saw him regularly scorned, dismissed as not good enough for a club of Liverpool’s size and too far behind technically to break into the team. However, under Jurgen Klopp, everything changed, and Henderson became the captain and leader - not to mention passing hub - of a side that won it all. He left Liverpool in 2023 with 33 goals and 58 assists in 492 appearances, helping the Reds win Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup (x2) and Champions League titles, among a host of other honours.
Henderson - now at Brentford via Al-Ettifaq and Ajax - also has 88 caps and counting for England, with whom he’s reached two European Championship finals and a World Cup semi-final, while picking up a Uefa Nations League bronze medal. Undoubtedly one of Sunderland’s greatest exports. The only sour note is that he hasn’t returned to the Stadium of Light.
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2. Simon Mignolet
Simon Mignolet was one of the key reasons why Sunderland narrowly avoided relegation in the 2012/13 campaign, sitting second only to Jussi Jaaskelainen (162) for saves (146), while only four Premier League goalkeepers kept more clean sheets, despite him playing for a side that finished 17th.
That was Mignolet’s third season at Sunderland and, after 101 appearances, Liverpool spent £9m to bring him to Anfield to replace Pepe Reina, who joined Napoli on loan.
Mignolet played every minute of the 2013/14 season as Liverpool embarked on a surprise title challenge and pushed Manchester City all the way. He retained the No.1 jersey for a few years after that, but slowly became less and less reliable as mistakes crept into his game. The 35-time Belgium international finally departed in 2019 to join Club Brugge, where he’s still playing now at 37 years old, winning four league titles and a cup with the Pro League giants so far.
3. Stewart Downing
Stewart Downing was one of the most successful products of what at the time was a prolific Middlesbrough youth academy back in the 2000s, but many people often forget that he had a loan spell at Sunderland during the 2003/04 campaign. That was back when Boro were still a Premier League club and Sunderland were in the First Division, before its rebrand to the Championship.
The winger was only at the Stadium of Light for a short time, but he still managed three goals and an assist in seven appearances as Sunderland began a run to the play-offs, where they’d lose in the semi-finals to Crystal Palace.
Downing went on to enjoy great success with Boro upon his return, eventually moving to Aston Villa, then Liverpool in 2011. His two-year stay at Anfield was average at best, however, and from there, he went to West Ham, back to Boro, and then finally Blackburn. He’s now back at Anfield as a scout.
4. Djibril Cisse
One of the unluckiest men in football, Djibril Cisse suffered two horrific broken legs in three years during his career. The first came in a freak accident during his first season at Liverpool, when he caught his foot in the turf while playing against Blackburn Rovers. This injury undoubtedly held him back in a key stage of his development, having scored 30 goals for Auxerre the season prior.
Cisse still managed 26 goals in all 82 appearances during his time at Anfield, including 21 across all competitions in 2005/06. He left the club that summer with Champions League and FA Cup winners’ medals in the bag.
After a two-year stay at Marseille, Cisse joined Sunderland on loan in 2008/09 and enjoyed decent success, scoring 11 goals in all competitions and 10 in the Premier League, helping the club survive in 16th, two points above relegated arch rivals Newcastle.
After Sunderland, Cisse embarked on a journeyman career that took him to Greece, Italy, back to England, Qatar, Russia, France and Switzerland.
5. El Hadji Diouf
One of the most controversial figures to play in England in modern times, El Hadji Diouf was never far away from the headlines. The Senegal international found himself at Sunderland during the 2008/09 campaign after a productive spell at Bolton under Sam Allardyce.
Diouf’s time at the Stadium of Light was a huge failure, however, failing to score in 16 appearances despite some flashes of quality. And honestly, the hardest thing to imagine is a harmonious dressing room containing him and Roy Keane.
The winger joined Blackburn in January 2009 to reunite with Allardyce, while he won a domestic double with Rangers and went on to play for the likes of Leeds United and Doncaster Rovers throughout the rest of his career.
6. Jason McAteer
A Birkenhead native who played for the Republic of Ireland at international level, Jason McAteer was the ultimate utility man for Liverpool, appearing on the wing, at right-back and in central midfield during his 139 games for the club in the 1990s. While never an undisputed starter, McAteer more than played his part in multiple top-four finishes and an FA Cup final during his time at Anfield.
Following a two-year stay with Blackburn, McAteer joined Sunderland in October 2001, but was unable to save them from relegation that season. Injuries hampered McAteer thereafter, and he returned to his native Wirral in July 2004 to join Tranmere Rovers.
7. Phil Babb
Phil Babb was a defensive stalwart for Liverpool during the early Premier League era, when they’d faded as title challengers but still featured regularly in the top four, while he also won the League Cup in 1994/95.
After a one-month loan to Tranmere in 2000, Babb made an unusual move to Sporting CP, where he won three domestic trophies in just 18 months. The Republic of Ireland international then returned to England to end his career with Sunderland, playing 48 times between 2002 and 2004, though he was unable to steer them away from relegation.
Babb’s biggest achievements on Wearside were being part of a 19-point season, and making a mistake that cost Sunderland their FA Cup semi-final against Millwall, which tells you all you need to know about how successful this move was.
8. Fabio Borini
After successful loan spells from Chelsea at Swansea City and Roma, Liverpool signed Fabio Borini in 2012. However, the Italian just never made the grade at Anfield, scoring three goals in 38 appearances. During that time, Borini went on loan to Sunderland in 2013/14 and was much more successful, scoring 10 goals across all competitions and seven in the Premier League, including in both of the Black Cats’ Tyne-Wear derby wins over Newcastle that campaign.
Liverpool actually gave Borini another shot after that, but it still didn’t work out. The forward returned to Sunderland on a permanent basis in 2015 and scored another seven goals in 54 appearances for the club, before making a shock move to AC Milan two years later.
While that second spell wasn’t as productive, Borini always gave his all and is keenly remembered for haunting Newcastle. You may be surprised to hear that he’s still playing in League Two for Salford City.
9. Boudewijn Zenden
Boudewijn Zenden played for some massive clubs during the early part of his career, including PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona and Chelsea. When his time with the latter didn’t work out, he moved to Middlesbrough in 2003, helping them win the League Cup, then finish seven in the Premier League. His 15 goals and eight assists during that spell caught the attention of Liverpool, and he became a rotational player between 2005 and 2007, picking up Community Shield and Uefa Super Cup winners’ medals and reaching a Champions League final.
Zenden left Liverpool to join Marseille in 2007, before ending his career with a two-year stay at Sunderland between 2009 and 2011. The Netherlands international registered four goals and five assists with the Black Cats, helping them finish 13th and 10th in the Premier League.
10. Don Hutchison
Don Hutchison is among a rare group of players to represent both Liverpool and Everton, and the best spell of his career was probably with the latter between 1998 and 2000. The Scotland international left Goodison Park for Sunderland at the turn of the Millennium and was a key player as the Wearsiders finished seventh for a second consecutive campaign in 2000/01, notching eight goals and two assists in 31 Premier League appearances.
That earned Hutchison a move to West Ham in the summer of 2001, while he also turned out for Millwall, Coventry City and Luton Town before the end of his career.
Honourable mentions: Barry Venison, Stephen Wright, Alan Kennedy, Paul Stewart, Sebastian Coates, Anthony Le Tallec, Javier Manquillo, Ovie Ejaria, Andrea Dossena, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Dominic Matteo, Jayden Danns.
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