Ronnie O'Sullivan quitting UK alongside actress Laila Rouass as he ‘can't go to shop without being asked for a selfie'
After being dumped out of the Snooker World
Championship
, O'Sullivan revealed his intention to leave the UK and move to the Middle East.
3
Ronnie O'Sullivan has upped sticks from the United Kingdom and moved to the UAE
Credit: GETTU
3
One of the reasons 'The Rocket' has left Old Blighty is because he's sick and tired of being stopped for selfies
Credit: GETTY
'The Rocket', fresh off his
Dubai
his permanent new home.
A better quality of life is no doubt one of the reasons O'Sullivan is set to make the UAE his new home.
But the ability to walk the streets without being hounded for a selfie is also one of the reasons he's decided to leave Old Blighty.
His long-time manager Jason Francis told
READ MORE ON RONNIE
"You'll probably see him first in Shanghai. He's had a little break from the UK.
'You're talking about someone who can't go to the shop without being asked for a selfie, a photo.
"Where he is, he's finding a life a little bit quieter at the moment.
'Ronnie's Ronnie. He'll decide when he wants to play and everyone knows he can come from nowhere to win a major tournament.
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'I'd rather not have the snooker, just a normal family' - Inside Ronnie O'Sullivan's troubled childhood
RONNIE O'SULLIVAN has enjoyed an incredible career as snooker's biggest star.
But the Rocket's turbulent past has led to struggles with mental health, addiction and yo-yo weight battles.
O'Sullivan's parents ran a chain of sex shops in Essex and his father was jailed for 20 years for murder when he was just 16.
In the Amazon documentary The Edge of Everything, the snooker icon admitted his dad going to prison had a profound effect.
He said: "I didn't want to blame everything on that situation with my dad, but I was thinking, 'I'd rather not have the snooker. just a normal family'. Because… It was a dream, but looking back, it was a nightmare."
Just a year later, Ronnie became the youngest ever UK Champion, seven days before his 18th birthday. Then at 19, in 1994, he became the youngest Masters champion.
But he has already begun to binge on drink and drugs and, when his mum was sent to prison for tax evasion, in 1996, he struggled to cope with looking after his eight–year-old sister alone.
Read more:
'You won't see Ronnie play a full schedule [this season] but I think you'll see him try and properly prepare for the tournaments he plays in.
"He'll still be the sport's most commercial player in the short-term.
Zhao Xintong's classy act towards Ronnie O'Sullivan revealed after knocking legend out of World Snooker Championship
"Whether Zhao Xintong or [Judd] Trump can pick up that mantle now as we transition.
"Ronnie will be 50 in December, people have to remember that.
"They still expect him to turn up and win everything.'
Reflecting on O'Sullivan's semi-final exit at the Crucible at the hands of Xintong, Francis said: "Absolutely incredible.
'He didn't even have a cue a few weeks before! But that's Ronnie for you.
"He had one bad session [losing all eight frames in the second session].
'I'm not saying he could have beaten Xintong – there was a feeling his name was on the trophy.
"But apart from one bad session, he was still toe to toe with him.
'I think if he had beaten Xintong, him and Mark Williams would have been an incredible final.
3
Ronnie O'Sullivan recently reconciled with actress Laila Rouass
Credit: GETTY
"But it's great for snooker to have a Chinese world champion and it's for World Snooker to exploit that.'
The Sun exclusively revealed O'Sullivan's reconciliation with Rouass, whom he was separated from for nine months.
A source said: 'They have been back together for a while. The time apart gave them time to think about what they want and what is important to them — and that is being together.
'Ronnie is moving to the Middle East and Laila is going with him.
"They've talked about living in Dubai, which is just a two-hour flight from where Ronnie has his snooker academy in Saudi Arabia.
"He has spoken to people on his snooker circuit about the move and is excited about a clean break from the UK for him and Laila.
'They have had their issues in the past but Ronnie and Laila have worked through it and seem really happy again.
'The people who know them think they make a great couple and just want them to live a happy, quiet life.'
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