Former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher, 48, admitted on Friday that he should not have sworn at Aston Villa supporters during an online dispute, following the club's announcement that they plan to take legal action against him.
The controversy began when Carragher angered the Midlands club by telling their supporters to shut the fuck up while suggesting Manchester United should target Unai Emery.
On Friday evening, Villa released a brief statement confirming their intention to pursue legal matters against the pundit.
During an appearance on Friday on The Overlap Daily alongside Becky Ives and Mark Goldbridge, Carragher tried to explain his remarks.
He stated, It is grown arms and legs. I ended up telling them to F off which maybe I should have not done. But it was all in jest because they have been all over my social timeline.
He added, So when I was saying F off, I was saying F off, off my socials. If you want to give me stick in the pub with Mr Goldbridge that is absolutely fine but stay off my socials!
He concluded, We will all make it all up as I am a big fan of Villa.
Goldbridge opened the discussion by joking that he would dress as Carragher for Halloween since he lives near numerous Villa fans.
Lifting his arms and smiling, Carragher responded, Honestly, unbelievable!
He continued, You are not allowed to give an opinion. I think Unai Emery is the best manager in the league and if you are Man Utd, thinking about getting a new manager, you are probably going to go what is the best we can get?
He stated, I am not saying he will go. I am saying if it was me, I would ask the question. But I am intrigued by Unai Emery, in that, when you have got somebody so good, as a manager...
He noted, It is not just Villa, there is lots of other teams... but there are teams that are elite; Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Man Utd, those type of teams.
He asked, I am just interested to know, would Unai Emery want to manage at that level again? Or is he thinking, I run the show at Villa, I can do what I want.
He compared Emery to Rafa Benitez, noting, And certain managers are good at a certain level or certain clubs, and that is Unai Emery, reminds me a bit of Rafa really.
He added, He has had his go at PSG and Arsenal, it did not work - but Seville, Villarreal, Aston Villa, Valencia, he has done really well.
He mentioned, I still do not think the ego of anybody, whether you are a manager or a player, and someone said no, you are just that level, I think you are own ego would go no I am not.
He concluded, That was just my point.
Nassef Sawiris, the co-owner and chairman of Aston Villa, revealed the club's legal intentions on Friday.
His statement declared, Aston Villa will initiate legal action against Jamie Carragher for his unacceptable insults about the club and its fans.
The statement added, Aston Villa will not allow anyone to stop our ascension in English and European football.
At age 54, Emery has managed at Villa Park since taking over from Steven Gerrard in 2022.
The Spanish manager has experienced immense success during his time, leading Villa to a Europa League victory last season.
Carragher praised Emery highly while discussing him as pressure mounted on Manchester United manager Michael Carrick.
On Stick to Football, Carragher said, I think Unai Emery is unbelievable with what he does year after year.
He continued, That amount of change, players needing time to settle and he does it year after year.
He explained his reasoning, But the reason I am going to go back at Villa fans is I can not believe that a manager who is so successful in the Europa League - take a player, if you had won the Europa League three or four times surely you will then want to go for the Champions League.
He stated, Aston Villa will never be Manchester United. I just think he did not do well at PSG or Arsenal, and maybe that is because of egos in the dressing room and that sort of thing.
He added, But surely he would want that opportunity to manage a giant again. There is a chain in football, whether you like it or not.
He gave an example, So Real Madrid will take Manchester United is best player, they did it with Cristiano Ronaldo.
He concluded, And there will be teams below Aston Villa, and they will take their players or manager, so shut the f*** up Aston Villa fans. Aston Villa will never be Manchester United.
