English Premier League club Aston Villa have outlined their plan to launch legal action against England great turned pundit Jamie Carragher over a series of “unacceptable insults”.
Villa released a statement on social media, attributed to chairman Nassef Sawiris, confirming their intention to sue Carragher, which hasn’t gone down well with their own fans.
“Aston Villa will initiate legal action against Jamie Carragher for his unacceptable insults about the club and its fans,” the statement sais.
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“Aston Villa will not allow anyone to stop our ascension in English and European football.”
Carragher, who works for Sky Sports and CBS, copped criticism for recent comments on the Stick to Football podcast where he suggested Villa manager Unai Emery would be interested in becoming Manchester United manager.
Michael Carrick is currently in charge of United, but his position hangs in the balance after a disastrous start to the campaign.
Carragher, who lavishly praised Emery, wondered if the manager would be keen to have another tilt at Champions League glory with a bigger club.
He outlined his football chain of which Villa are not near the top, and told their fans to “shut the f*** up”.
“I mentioned Unai Emery (to be next manager of United) and have had loads of Villa fans on my case on social media which is absolutely fine,” he said.
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“Surely he would want that opportunity to manage a giant again. I’m not trying to annoy you, Villa fans.
“But there is a chain in football, whether you like it or not. So, Real Madrid will take Man U’s best player, they’ll take (Cristiano) Ronaldo.
“There’s a few above Manchester United, above Liverpool.
“And there will be teams below Aston Villa, and they’ll take their manager or take their players, so shut the f*** up, Villa fans.
“Aston Villa will never be Man United.”
Carragher clarified his comments on social media, insisting the expletive was a “joke”.
“It was a joke after the stick Villa fans have given me over saying Emery may fancy joining Man Utd,” he posted.
“I hope these clown clips show me praising Emery/Villa like I have done for years & saying how pleased I was you won (Europa League final) in Istanbul.”
Aston Villa’s move to threaten legal action has been immediately criticised by fans.
“Embarrassing, he didn’t insult anyone, just gave an opinion and prediction,” one said.
“Is this a joke? Him chatting s*** on a podcast has no impact on what happens to us. Actually find this embarrassing,” another said.
“If i wasn’t 100 per cent sure this was the official channel I’d swear it was fake. Over sensitive imho,” another added.
Emery has been in charge of Villa since 2022, immediately transforming the club from a relegation fight to European qualification.
He has since secured three straight top-six finishes, as well as leading the club to Europa League glory last season
Emery has previously managed European giants PSG and Arsenal, although his time at the latter was cut short when he was sacked midway through his second season in charge.
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