Wayne Rooney makes knighthood appeal as Man United icon's thoughts clear

O'Sullivan has been a dominant force in elite snooker for decades, having claimed a joint-record seven world championships. The 50-year-old secured his first world title 25 years ago and has amassed a remarkable 23 Triple Crown victories, more than any other player in history.

Rooney enjoyed a glittering career of his own, becoming Manchester United's all-time leading scorer and previously holding the same record for England. Despite winning plenty of silverware during his time at United, BBC Sport pundit Rooney confessed to being in awe of O'Sullivan's skills and firmly believes the snooker great is deserving of a knighthood.

"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."

O'Sullivan has claimed 41 ranking titles and continues to rewrite the record books. During last month's World Open, he produced the highest break in the sport's history with a 153, surpassing the standard 147 maximum after capitalising on an early free ball.

Rooney hailed the seven-time world champion as the greatest sportsperson of all time, though he deliberately chose to exclude footballers from his rankings. The 40-year-old placed US sporting icons Tom Brady and Michael Jordan joint-fifth, followed by tennis legend Serena Williams, boxing great Mike Tyson and golf icon Tiger Woods in second place. Yet, O'Sullivan topped the United legend's personal list.

"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 scheduled to compete in the 2026 World Snooker Championship later this month and enters the tournament as the 12th seed. His most recent world title success arrived in 2022, when he beat Judd Trump 18-13 in the final.