Ronnie O'Sullivan granted Hong Kong residency as snooker retirement talk gathers pace

Ronnie O'Sullivan is considering living in Hong Kong permanently.

The great, 48, was recently granted residency under the country's Quality Migrant Admission Scheme. O'Sullivan has frequently, insisting he enjoys competing

He is a hugely popular celebrity in that part of the and tends to spend a lot of time there competing in ranking tournaments and financially lucrative exhibition events. It's unclear as to how many more seasons the West Midlander has in the billiard world, having already won seven world titles.

Celebrating his residency, O'Sullivan appeared in a social media video for the Hong Kong immigration office, where he spoke in depth about his love for the country.

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In the video, he said: "My plan in Hong Kong is, obviously, here to do some work. But I love the food. I love to just, relax here in Hong Kong.

"Maybe I'm going to play some snooker, just see some friends maybe. It's just really nice to be back in Hong Kong again."

At a press conference at the Macau Snooker Masters, the world No.5 made it clear that he had began his application to live in Asia several months previously. He said: “I probably do about 70 per cent of my work in China and Asia now.

"I have to make a life here. I have to make a home. If you work a long time in a certain place you need to make it as comfortable as possible.”

O'Sullivan's brand all around the world is continuing to expand. Earlier this year, he opened an academy that was named after him in Saudi Arabia after agreeing a huge deal worth millions.

He's also pursuing other ventures to grow his brand in Hong Kong and Macau. In another media appearance, he said: “I know some people in Hong Kong and they said: ‘We want to try and make this possible for you'.

“Maybe Macau will be the next one because obviously I have some friends in Macau that are saying it’s a good idea to do something in Macau as well.

“Now that I have the ID card, it will be much easier to come and stay for longer periods. The plan is to spend more time here, and then maybe in four, five, or six years, I’ll move here for good. I think snooker is a very popular sport in Asia.”

O'Sullivan will be in action on Sunday in the International Championship in China. He will be taking on the highly-skilled, 2022 women's world champion Mink Nutcharut in a heldover qualifier in Nanjing.