Leeds United are one of the UK’s most notoriously disliked clubs, meaning that they have many rivals in the football pyramid, but Man United are chief among them.
For the majority, Leeds United’s most bitter rivals are Manchester United despite the two not facing each other as regularly following Leeds’ first relegation from the Premier League in 2004.
As the largest cities in the North within the historic counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire, animosity between the regions date back to the Wars of the Roses, although more recent tensions between the football clubs dates back to the 1960s.
The iconic managers of Don Revie and Matt Busby saw the clubs have competed for league titles and cups in the 1960s and 1970s. The rivalry has been described as one of the fiercest in world football, even with Man United also sharing strong rivalry with Liverpool and Manchester City.
On the pitch, the clubs have also competed well in the top-flight in the 1990s and early 2000s, with both clubs winning titles in that period. Players such as Johnny Giles, Gordon Strachan, and Eric Cantona have been highly successful after moving between the clubs as well.
Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty ImagesLeeds academy graduate Clarke Oduor dominates headlines in Grimsby and Man United controversy
Leeds have returned to English football’s top table to face their famous enemy again. They have Daniel Farke at the helm but Leeds and Man United will have to wait until January 3 to renew hostilities in a competitive setting with one another.
It’s been an eventful summer for both ahead of their return to Premier League action, which stepped up a gear when Leeds took on old foe Manchester United in pre-season. A 0-0 draw was the first game of each side’s off-season.
Another thing both share is a famous academy set-up. Both are notorious for their ability to produce and give younger players chances. Over the last 20 years or so, James Milner, Aaron Lennon, Fabian Delph, and Kalvin Phillips are just some of the Leeds academy graduates.
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All of them have played at an extremely high level. However, the EFL is littered with former stars from Leeds. Born in Kenya, Clarke Oduor is one. He started his career at Leeds’ academy around 2010, eventually signing a professional contract in January 2017.
Oduor featured regularly for Carlos Corberan’s Leeds U-23 side over the course of the 2018/19 season, showing his versatility from a young age by playing as left-back, wing-back, winger, and even as more of a forward over the course of the year.
The now 26-year-old played one game in January 2019 under Marcelo Bielsa, coming on as an 85th-minute substitute during a 2-1 defeat to QPR in the third round of the FA Cup. The Leeds academy product has featured for the likes of Barnsley and Bradford City since.
However, now at Grimsby Town, he has been the centre of controversy. Per The Guardian, Grimsby have been fined for their use of an ineligible player. The League Two side avoided possible expulsion or replay but Oduor’s registration was submitted minutes too late.
From the sublime to the ridiculous…
Grimsby have been fined £20,000 for fielding an ineligible player in the their Carabao Cup win over Manchester United.
The club said it “was not deliberate with no intention to deceive or mislead”.#MUFC #GTFC #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/7LeS2oZ47l
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) September 2, 2025
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He joined on loan from Bradford. Instead, Grimsby have been fined £20,000 by the English Football League for fielding an ineligible player during their famous League Cup win against Manchester United at Blundell Park last Wednesday.
The governing body opted for this sanction rather than use their potential powers to either expel David Artell’s side or order the tie to be replayed. Oduor’s registration was submitted at 12.01pm last Tuesday, one minute and 59 seconds after the 12pm deadline.
Photo by Ben Radford/Getty ImagesThe crazy thing Eric Cantona did after Leeds won the First Division title in 1992
One of the other famous players to be connected to both Man United and Leeds, following Oduor writing himself into the history books for his 17-minute cameo last week, is Eric Cantona.
Cantona played for both Leeds and Man United in 1992. Speaking in 2022 of how then-Leeds player Cantona jumped into his swimming pool at 3am, still fully dressed, Martin Goldman explained.
“The place was buzzing. Then, at about 11.30pm, Batty said to me, ‘We are going back to yours, we are still celebrating’,” Goldman said. “In the end, about 250 people came back to mine. It was unbelievable.
”I had a house with a swimming pool and a football pitch. Eric Cantona jumped in the pool with all of his clothes on. Was p***** out of his head. We were playing football in the garden at 3am,” Goldman added.