Manchester United icon Paul Scholes has had his say after watching Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Crucible

England and Manchester United legend Paul Scholes was left star-struck after he was acknowledged by Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Crucible. The ex-midfielder also insists he has no regrets about witnessing the Rocket in action for just less than an hour, describing his visit to the World Snooker Championship as among the most memorable experiences of his life.

Scholes was left in awe as O’Sullivan gave him a nod at the end of the game, forcing the ex-United star to admit, “he knows who I am!” The former footballer’s revelation follows BBC snooker commentator John Parrot’s on-air apology to Scholes after his opportunity to watch the legend was abruptly curtailed as the Rocket dismantled his opponent in just over half an hour.

O’Sullivan, who has toyed with retirement in recent times, was eventually knocked out by John Higgins in the quarter-finals of this year’s competition. Nevertheless, Scholes was present to witness the Rocket tear through He Guoqiang in the opening round.

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The seven-time world champion had raced into a 7-2 advantage following the first session and needed just three additional frames to complete a dominant victory.

Scholes was positioned in the front row for the second session of the match. During the encounter, the BBC cameras focused on the Premier League-winning icon, with Parrot saying: “A very interested spectator, one of England’s greatest midfielders, Paul Scholes, is here today to watch Ronnie. I’m sure he’ll be impressed with what he’s seen.”

As O’Sullivan closed in on the win, the former snooker star added: “Paul Scholes might have enjoyed this but he’s only going to see three frames of it. Sorry Paul, this man is just too good.”

Speaking on The Good, The Bad and The Football Podcast, hosted by Paddy McGuinness, the United legend opened up about his longstanding desire to watch snooker’s greatest ever player perform on the legendary Crucible stage.

He revealed that the experience was so memorable that he had absolutely no regrets about it being over so quickly. “I wanted to go and do it for years, go and watch Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Crucible” said Scholes. “I live an hour away (from the Crucible) so on my phone, had a look, see if I buy a ticket – there was one ticket left.

“It’s three seats away from Ronnie – I’ve clicked on it, 450 quid, and I just thought ‘F*** it. I’m doing it’. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do. I don’t really get excited about much stuff, do I?

“But this was f*****g unbelievable. One of the best things I’ve ever done. Honestly, peace and quiet, I could have sat in that chair for two weeks. I swear to God, I could have watched every single game.

“He did it in about 45 minutes, got two centuries – absolute genius. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life, honestly. At one point, I got a bit giddy.

“Do you know what? I was on a high for about three days after it. I’m still talking about it now, it’s one of the best things I’ve done in my life. Watching a genius at work like that, it’s unbelievable.”

Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package

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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.

In an interesting sequence of events, three former WWE Superstars have seemingly formed an official stable tonight on AEW Dynamite. They now look to go after championship gold.

FTR is currently feuding with Adam Copeland and Christian Cage, and they are set to compete in a high-stakes contest next month at AEW Double or Nothing. This will be a New York Street Fight, with an additional “I Quit” stipulation. The tag team titles will be on the line, and should Cope and Christian lose, they’ll retire as a duo.

But both Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler have found themselves in a feud with another top faction on the roster in The Conglomeration. Last week, tensions got high between them after running into each other on Collision. They got into it again earlier tonight, with both teams being at ringside for Adam Copeland and Christian Cage’s match against RPG Vice.

Moments later, Stokely Hathaway was backstage and proposed an idea that he and FTR had come up with, which Tony Khan had already approved. This would feature a double jeopardy match next week on AEW Dynamite between Dax Harwood and Orange Cassidy.

If Cassidy wins, he will team up with either Roderick Strong or Kyle O’Reilly to take on FTR for the tag team titles. But if he loses, FTR and a third man will challenge the Conglomeration for the trios belts. They then revealed that the partner they had in mind would be Tommaso Ciampa.

Ciampa and FTR were rivals during their days in NXT, but now in AEW, their goals have aligned, and they look to have formed a partnership of sorts. They could prove to be formidable challengers for the Conglomeration, but this will all depend on Dax Harwood. This would be an interesting situation to watch out for as this will have major implications for several title scenes.