Wayne Rooney sends King Charles knighthood plea as feelings made clear | Football | Sport
Wayne Rooney has called for a sportsperson to be knighted (Image: Getty)
Wayne Rooney has called for snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan to receive a knighthood. The former England captain made his plea to King Charles after being asked to name his top five sports stars of all-time, with ‘The Rocket’ taking first place.
O’Sullivan has been synonymous with elite snooker for decades, winning a joint-record seven world championships. The 50-year-old won his first world title 25 years ago and has secured a remarkable 23 Triple Crown victories, the most of any player. Rooney enjoyed an illustrious career of his own, becoming Manchester United’s all-time goalscorer and previously holding the same record for England. Despite being a serial winner during his time at Old Trafford, Rooney admitted to being in awe of O’Sullivan’s brilliance and believes that the snooker icon deserves to be knighted.
“In my opinion, he should be Sir Ronnie O’Sullivan,” he said on The Wayne Rooney Show. “He should be knighted. He should, maybe [it’s] because he’s controversial. We’re seeing all these MBEs, OBEs, people getting knighted for different things. Some rightly, some wrongly, in my opinion.
“Ronnie O’Sullivan, for what he’s done for snooker and the titles he’s won, going over to different countries as well doing it, he should be knighted. Maybe he doesn’t fit.”
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O’Sullivan has won 41 ranking titles and continues to set new records. During the World Open last month, he made the sport’s highest-ever break with a 153, exceeding the standard 147 maximum, after taking advantage of an early free ball.
Rooney lauded the seven-time world champion as the best sports star of all-time, though he purposely opted not to include footballers in his countdown. The 40-year-old had US sporting heroes Tom Brady and Michael Jordan sharing fifth spot, followed by tennis legend Serena Williams, boxing great Mike Tyson and golf icon Tiger Woods as runner-up. However, O’Sullivan stands alone for the United legend.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has enjoyed a legendary snooker career (Image: Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
“My number one is, it’s controversial but, for me, I absolutely love him, it’s Ronnie O’Sullivan,” Rooney explained. “I love snooker, I’ve always loved snooker.
“In snooker, you’ve had some absolute legends. Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry, absolute legends in snooker – but Ronnie O’Sullivan comes along and just how he plays the game, left-hand, right-hand, taking risks.
“There was the one where he was on a 147 and he missed the black on purpose to make a point about the money the snooker players were getting paid, that it should be more to get a 147. His interviews are brilliant. He’s got a charisma, an aura about him and recently he’s just got a 153, the highest-ever.“
O’Sullivan is set to participate in the 2026 World Snooker Championship later this month and is the 12th seed at the tournament. His most recent world title triumph came in 2022, when he defeated Judd Trump 18-13 in the final.
