TV pundit Jamie Carragher has drawn the ire of Aston Villa – the club even intends to take legal action. This follows comments he made about Villa manager Unai Emery.
Michael Carrick is set to leave Manchester United, and the question of who might succeed him is on the minds of more than just the fans at Old Trafford. Aston Villa’s successful manager, Unai Emery, is also being linked with the role – and it is precisely this scenario that has now landed Jamie Carragher in hot water.
” Aston Villa will take legal action against Jamie Carragher for his unacceptable insults towards the club and its fans”, the Villans announced on Friday evening in a post on X, signed by club boss Nassef Sawiris. “Aston Villa will not allow anyone to stand in the way of our rise in English and European football.”
Carragher has targeted Villa fans – and initially wanted his comments to be taken as a joke
The trigger was comments Carragher made on the ‘Stick to Football’ podcast about Emery, whom The Athletic recently hailed as the “best manager in the Premier League” and who has reportedly also attracted interest from Manchester United.
“He’d certainly love the chance to manage a top club again,” said Carragher. “In football, there’s a hierarchy, whether you like it or not. So Real Madrid will sign the best player from Manchester United – they’ve already done that with Cristiano Ronaldo. And there’ll be clubs below Aston Villa, and Villa will poach their players or managers. So shut the fuck up, you Aston Villa fans. Aston Villa will never be Manchester United.”
Initially, Carragher had justified his choice of words (“shut the fuck up”) as a joke; on Saturday, the former defender published a statement on his social media channels, saying: “I would like to apologise to Aston Villa, the owners and the fans. My choice of words this week was clumsy and wrong. I can assure Villa fans that it was meant ironically, but I can understand that it didn’t come across that way – hence my apology.”
Whilst Man United also lost to Chelsea FC on Saturday (0–2), Villa – sitting ninth in the table going into the matchday – face Fulham FC on Saturday evening. In the Champions League, Emery’s side have won their first three matches.