Ronnie O'Sullivan makes feelings on UK crystal clear after uprooting to new country

Ronnie O'Sullivan has clarified his stance on playing in the UK again after relocating abroad with his wife, Laila Rouass, last year. The seven-time world champion is now based in Dubai, having swapped British shores for the warmer climate of the Middle East. He declared his intention to move out of England following his semi-final exit at the last World Championship.

O'Sullivan is also a citizen of Hong Kong, having passed through a quality migration scheme to gain residency in the former British colony. Since moving to Dubai, the 50-year-old has been playing fewer events in the UK. He has appeared at a total of eight tournaments this season but only one of those was based in Britain.

He returned for the UK Championship at the York Barbican but only lasted one match, losing at the hands of Zhou Yuelong in the opening round.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, O'Sullivan explained that he doesn't have a specific issue with playing in the UK, with his schedule mainly depending on how he is feeling at the time.

"I don't have a problem with the UK, I don't have a problem with anywhere, it's just if I feel like playing, I'll play," said O'Sullivan.

"If I don't feel like playing, then I won't. You know, there's no plan or no reason, you just decide near the time if it's something you want to do."

O'Sullivan was due to play at the Masters last month but withdrew due to medical reasons before the start of the tournament.

He is expected to return to the UK for the World Championship later this year and may only play one warm-up event before the Crucible showpiece.

Quizzed on his schedule for the rest of the season, he said: "I'll maybe play in Yushan, China [for the World Open], and then maybe just the World Championships. But nothing is for sure, you never know."

O'Sullivan has qualified for this month's Players Championship in Telford and is in a very strong position to make it to the Tour Championship as well. However, neither of those events appear to be on his radar as things stand.

He previously explained that he was loving his new life in Dubai, admitting that his back-up plan of relocating to Sheffield had faced opposition from Rouass.

"It's really good," he said. "I've got a great practice facility there, which was one of the main reasons for going. I was struggling to find somewhere to play. It was either get a train up to Sheffield or try to move to Sheffield, but my wife wasn't too keen on Sheffield.

"So she said: 'We either go to Spain or Dubai'. And I thought: 'Well, Dubai is nearer China'. Obviously it's in the Middle East. All the tournaments that I play and all the work that I do is there. It just made sense to go to Dubai."