Aston Villa have announced that they are ready to take the unusual step of suing Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher – but what brought us to this unusual situation?

The Premier League side issued a 34-word statement confirming their intention to take legal action against the former Liverpool and England star overnight.

Signed off by chairman Nassef Sawiris, it read: “Aston Villa will initiate legal action against Jamie Carragher for his unacceptable insults about the club and its fans.

“Aston Villa will not allow anyone to stop our ascension in English and European football.”

But what did Carragher do that made the Europa League winners so angry?

What did Carragher say about Aston Villa?

Much of the chaos in recent days stems from Manchester United’s crisis and speculation over who might replace Michael Carrick at Old Trafford if he is sacked.

Emery’s exploits at Aston Villa have led to him being discussed as a candidate, even if the widespread expectation is that former Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is favourite for the role.

Sections of the Villa support have reacted with astonishment at the suggestion the Spaniard would be linked to United given the status of the two clubs currently.

Carragher is of a differing opinion, but it was the tone he delivered this in on Stick to Football that really sparked the anger of the Birmingham side. He said:

“I think Unai Emery is unbelievable with what he does year after year.

“That amount of change, players needing time to settle and he does it year after year.

“But the reason I’m going to go back at Villa fans is I can’t believe that a manager who is so successful in the Europa League – take a player, if you’d won the Europa League three or four times surely you’ll then want to go for the Champions League.

“Aston Villa will never be Manchester United. I just think he didn’t do well at PSG or Arsenal, and maybe that’s because of egos in the dressing room and that sort of thing.

“But surely he would want that opportunity to manage a giant again. There is a chain in football, whether you like it or not.

“So Real Madrid will take Manchester United’s best player, they did it with Cristiano Ronaldo.

“And there will be teams below Aston Villa, and they’ll take their players or manager, so shut the **** up Aston Villa fans. Aston Villa will never be Manchester United.”

Carragher has a history of high-profile spats, notably clashing publicly with Liverpool legend Mohamed Salah last season when the Egypt international claimed he had been “thrown under a bus” by the leadership at Anfield.