Snooker legend Ronnie O'Sullivan claims he was once strip searched by police after being accused of kidnapping
Snooker legend Ronnie O'Sullivan claims he was once strip-searched by police after being falsely accused of kidnapping.
Fondly known as 'Rocket Ronnie', he has achieved numerous remarkable accomplishments throughout his snooker career including winning seven World Snooker Championship titles, and becoming one of the most successful players in the history of the sport.
The Rocket recently opened up about an untold story in a rapid-fire questions session with The Guardian, while promoting his new memoir 'Unbreakable'.
He was asked a very cheeky question, 'What has been your closest brush with the law?', but the answer wasn't something his fans would have expected.
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He said: "I got falsely accused of kidnapping when I was 17 or 18. It was scary: they took me and my mate in separately, strip-searched me, took my car away for forensics, and put me in a white paper suit. I was like: “What’s going on here?”
Rocket published his first autobiography, known as 'Ronnie' back in 2003, and his latest, 'Unbreakable', was released recently on 11 May.
However, the 47-year-old winner has come a long way in his career achieving a record-breaking number of maximum breaks in professional snooker tournaments.
Having won his first UK Championship at the age of 17, the Essex resident is regarded as the greatest snooker player of all time.
The Rocket is married to actress Laila Rouass and is a parent to three children: Taylor, Lily, and Ronnie Jr.
When asked what he would change about his past, he replied: "I would go back to when I was 14 and keep to my own style of playing snooker.
"I was perfect, but I didn’t think I was, so I started playing like everybody else and created bad habits. With a little more time, I could have been the ultimate player. I look at my career and I probably got 75 per cent out of it instead of 100 percent."
Known for his stubbornness and addictive personality, O'Sullivan has also battled with mental health and proudly admits today to 'staying on the straight and narrow'.
He added: "I know I am an addict - I’ve got an addictive personality - but as long as it’s not affecting my life or people around me then I think it’s OK."
The new Snooker season is due to start in June, where O'Sullivan will be looking to make history once again to further cement his sporting legacy.
Rashi Agarwal