Ronnie O'Sullivan had an outrageous answer after being asked for the most famous person in his phone book

Ronnie O'Sullivan claims to have one of the world's most famous people in his phone book.

The 48-year-old, from Wordsley, is arguably the most naturally gifted snooker player of all time. With records to his name such as the fastest maximum break and the highest number of centuries, O'Sullivan continues to carry the game on his shoulders.

Since bursting onto the scene in 1990, the seven-time world champion has become a household name in the UK, but what about the United States? Snooker is certainly a lesser-known cue sport in the US compared to eight-ball pool, although Barack Obama is apparently a big fan of the game.

In fact, Ronnie O'Sullivan name-dropped the former president when Eurosport asked a handful of snooker players to tell them the most famous person in their phone book outside of snooker.

To kick things off, former world champions Shaun Murphy named former Manchester United and Liverpool striker Michael Owen as his most famous contact, before Wales' Mark Williams said Pontypridd-born singer Tom Jones.

Mason Mount was Judd Trump's most well-known contact, while former world number one Neil Robertson went with former Chelsea pair John Terry and Thibaut Courtois.

Nicko McBrain, the drummer from Iron Maiden, was name-dropped by Mark Selby but O'Sullivan trumped everyone when he brought up Obama, who was in office between 2009 and 2017.

Given his very dry sense of humour, O'Sullivan could be lying but knowing how popular he is around the world, the claim might just have an element of truth to it.

Here's how fans on social media reacted to the revelation.

One said: "Ronnie just blowing everyone away with that answer," and another commented: "I don’t believe him!"

A third wrote: "He's having a laugh, isn't he? Aren't you @ronnieo147?"

A fourth said: "Everyone gives their answers then comes our GOAT Ronnie," while a fifth added: "Wasn’t expecting Selby to say Nicko McBrain to be fair."

Earlier this month, O'Sullivan said he would "probably retire" if one of the most popular aspects of darts was introduced to snooker.

Speaking to talkSPORT, 'The Rocket' was asked to give his thoughts on the current state of snooker and whether they should take a leaf out of darts' book. The leaf? The introduction of walk-ons, with players having their own music as they walked to the table.

"I'd probably definitely retire," O'Sullivan laughed. "I'd be like, 'You know what? I'm out of here now."