Jamie Carragher has apologised to Aston Villa for using "clumsy and wrong" language when discussing the club, after club had threatened legal action. "I'd like to apologise to Aston Villa, the owners and their fans. My language this week was clumsy and wrong," Carragher wrote on X on Saturday.

"I can assure Villa fans it was tongue-in-cheek but I can understand it's not come across that way, so apologies. Good luck today UTV [Up the Villa]!"

On Friday, Villa had announced plans to take legal action against Carragher for his "unacceptable insults", in a statement on X signed by their chair, Nassef Sawiris. The pundit had said Villa fans should "shut the fuck up" after facing criticism for suggesting Unai Emery should consider taking the Manchester United job.

"Aston Villa will initiate legal action against Jamie Carragher for his unacceptable insults about the club and its fans," the statement said. "Aston Villa will not allow anyone to stop our ascension in English and European football. Nassef Sawiris, chairman."

The former Liverpool defender made his remarks on the Stick to Football podcast while discussing the prospect of Emery replacing Michael Carrick at Old Trafford. Carragher said: "I'm not trying to annoy Villa fans, but there is a chain in football, whether you like it or not. So Real Madrid will take Man United's best player, they'll take [Cristiano] Ronaldo. There's very few above United, the same with Liverpool.

"But there will be teams below Aston Villa and they [Villa] will take their manager or they will take their players, so shut the fuck up, Villa fans. Aston Villa will never be Man United."

Aston Villa have not responded publicly to Carragher's apology, at time of writing. They face Fulham at home in the Premier League on Saturday night.