Prior to the World Snooker Championship, Ronnie O’Sullivan talked about how much he loves Lionel Messi and another sport.

Lionel Messi asserts, and Ronnie O’Sullivan acknowledges that he now gives priority to another sport.

Prior to the World Snooker Championship, Ronnie O’Sullivan talked about how much he loves Lionel Messi and another sport.

After being drawn against Pang Junxu in the opening round, Ronnie O’Sullivan is trying to win an eighth World Snooker Championship at the Crucible in the coming weeks. After tying Stephen Hendry for the most titles last year, “The Rocket” would have taken the lead with eight victories.

Before the competition, O’Sullivan answered questions from a number of current and former athletes for Eurosport, providing an overview of his life both on and off the table. Rio Ferdinand, a legend at Manchester United, asked in a voicemail who athletes inspire him. In response, the 47-year-old replied with four names.

The main one in individual sports, in my opinion, was unquestionably [Roger] Federer, stated O’Sullivan. “At this point, it’s [Novak] Djokovic as he is excelling at his sport. Naturally, I would have to pick [Lionel] Messi in football; in my opinion, he’s just the governor.

“When you simply watch him perform, it’s rather different, isn’t it? Everybody adores Messi. Huge fan of Usain Bolt, Djokovic, and Lionel. For me, he is one of the kings.

O’Sullivan introduced Messi as “the governor” before discussing his love of running, a sport unrelated to snooker. He was asked to describe the physical preparation required to become a professional snooker player by Olympic cyclist Chris Froome, and he said that he enjoys cross-country running even more than potting balls.

To play snooker, you really don’t need to have a lot of physical traits, according to O’Sullivan. However, I believe it would be wise to simply clear your mind; a daily run of 20 minutes or so would be excellent. It’s long enough to work up a sweat, but not so long that you overdo it and tire out before you have to play snooker.