'Years of lies!' Ronnie O'Sullivan's Brexit fury as he claimed he was 'moving to Germany'
RONNIE O'SULLIVAN launched into a rant against Brexit and claimed he was planning to move to Germany following the historic vote, archived reports have shown.
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The world-famous snooker player is widely regarded as one of sport's best. In recent years, O'Sullivan has moved to step away from the spotlight and intensity of the sport to focus on himself, more specifically, his physical and mental health. He spoke about his change in diet during this morning's BBC Saturday Kitchen Live, as host Matt Tebbutt rustled up a meal.
Despite wanting to lead a more balanced life, O'Sullivan has in the past been known more for his unpredictable temperament, as well as his outspoken political views.
He's received many warnings, and even sanctions, from the Snooker Association.
More recently, as the UK looked tipped to leave the EU without a deal - before an eleventh-hour push from the UK and EU negotiating sides - O'Sullivan's old opinions on the historic vote resurfaced.
In 2016, one day after the Leave camp won the referendum vote, O'Sullivan took to Twitter to voice his outrage.
He wrote: "Time to leave the UK, I think this place is falling apart at the seams, might move to Germany."
Of course, the move never transpired.
The sportsman still lives in Buckhurst, Essex, the place where he grew up, with his fiance, actress Laila Rouass.
At the time of the tweet, many of O'Sullivan's fans appeared not to agree with his view.
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One user replied: "Ronnie, I love you, but farewell."
Another, said: "Please tell me you’re joking, Ron?"
A third person taunted: "Bye-bye, nice to have our country back."
Elsewhere, O'Sullivan has been open about his addiction to drugs and alcohol.
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In 1998, he lost his Irish Masters crown after testing positive for cannabis.
In his autobiography, 'Running', admitted his private life was in tatters despite his sporting success.
He said: "When I was having my weekly benders and my private life was in bits, I had a brilliant year professionally.
"I remember getting to every World Championship and thinking, ‘I can’t wait til this tournament is over cos then there’s no more drug tests, I can go out and smash it'.
"I’d got caught once in my career, but that’s all. I’d get tested between events, and I was trying to judge it perfectly so there’d be no drugs left in my system, but I was pushing my luck.
"My mum said to me, ‘You are going to get caught soon. You can’t carry on like this'."
The Rocket - his sporting nickname - said he was lucky to have had snooker, something which gave him focus.
He added: "At my worst I had to have a joint first thing in the morning just to function. But loads of time snooker got in the way of my benders, rather than the other way round."
O'Sullivan entered the spotlight aged just 17, in 1993.
It was here that he won his first ranking at the UK Championship, making him the youngest player ever to win a professional ranking event, a record he holds to this day.