Wayne Rooney calls for athletes to be knighted (Image: Getty)
Wayne Rooney has called for snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan to be knighted. The former England captain made a petition to King Charles after being asked to name his top five sports stars of all time, and ‘Rocket’ came first.
O’Sullivan has been synonymous with elite snooker for decades, winning the World Championship a joint-record seven times. The 50-year-old won his first world title 25 years ago, winning an astonishing 23 Triple Crowns, the most of any player. Rooney had a glittering career, becoming Manchester United’s all-time top scorer and previously holding the same record for England. Despite being a back-to-back champion during his time at Old Trafford, Rooney admits he is in awe of O’Sullivan’s talent and believes the snooker icon deserves a knighthood.
“In my opinion he should be Sir Ronnie O’Sullivan,” he said on The Wayne Rooney Show. “He should be knighted. Maybe it’s because he’s controversial, but he should be knighted. We see MBEs, OBEs, people being knighted for different reasons. In my opinion, some people are right and some people are wrong.
“Ronnie O’Sullivan, for his achievements as a snooker player and for going to different countries and winning titles, he should be knighted. Maybe he doesn’t deserve it.”
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O’Sullivan continues to set new records with 41 ranking titles. At last month’s World Open, he used fast free balls to score 153, the highest break in the history of the sport, exceeding the standard maximum score of 147.
Rooney hailed the seven-time world champion as the greatest sports star of all time, but deliberately chose not to include any footballers in his countdown. The 40-year-old shared fifth place with American sporting heroes Tom Brady and Michael Jordan, followed by tennis legend Serena Williams, boxing great Mike Tyson and golf icon Tiger Woods in second place. But O’Sullivan speaks for the United legend.
Ronnie O’Sullivan had a legendary snooker career (Image: Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
“My number one player is probably controversial, but for me he’s my absolute favorite, and that’s Ronnie O’Sullivan,” Rooney explained. “I love snooker, and I’ve always loved snooker.
“There are some absolute legends in snooker, Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry, absolute legends in snooker, but then Ronnie O’Sullivan comes along and how he plays the game, left-handed, right-handed, taking risks.”
“He was scoring 147 and he purposely left out the black to make a point about the money that snooker players are getting paid. He argued that it was better to score 147. His interviews are great. He has charisma and aura and he just recently scored 153, the highest score ever.”
O’Sullivan will compete in the 2026 World Snooker Championship later this month, where he is seeded 12th in the tournament. His most recent world title win came in 2022 when he defeated Judd Trump 18-13 in the final.
