Ronnie O'Sullivan 'finished' as he digs out snooker legends in worrying comments

Ronnie O'Sullivan reckons he is finished at snooker's top table. The legendary Rocket, 48, has dominated the sport for over three decades and pocketed FIVE big titles last season.

But the seven-time world champion, a record he proudly holds with Stephen Hendry, believes his days are numbered.

Crowd pleaser O'Sullivan is struggling to cope with the "inevitable decline" in his performance and does not want to play past his sell-by date like other greats such as Hendry and Steve Davis.

O'Sullivan saw his hopes of winning the mega-money Saudi Arabia Masters dashed with a 6-4 quarter-final defeat to Chinese upstart Si Jiahui.

"I just have to accept it's finished for me really," admitted O'Sullivan. "I've been on a steady decline for five years and it's just getting worse and worse.

"I've got to try and hang on and slow the inevitable decline that happens to all sports people. It's okay against certain players at a certain level, but at the level I'm used to playing at and kind of having a bit of a stranglehold on the game, it's just not good enough. I have to accept that.

"I'm happy that it's happening at this age and not at 31, that's the only positive. It's not easy to accept because you still want to play, you still want to compete.

"I don't want to do what Hendry done, or Davis done or what Jimmy's done which is probably played on well past where they were capable of doing any damage in the game."

O'Sullivan has long cemented himself as the greatest player to ever pick up a cue. But even with a CV littered with records - most major Triple Crown titles (23), most ranking titles (41), most maximum 147 breaks (15) and most century breaks (approaching 1,300) - the Chigwell ace is still plighted by his pursuit of perfection on the baize.

The world No.5, who has won two world titles in the past four years, added: "It's hard because I'm used to feeling a certain way when I'm playing.

"I've tried to figure out what's going on. To be honest with you, I make so many mistakes now it's gone beyond a joke. It is what it is. I've just got to try and enjoy it because I haven't got long left. I'll be lucky if I'm in the top 16 in two or three years the way I'm playing.

"You look at John Higgins. You just can't stop it. You'd like to but it happens to everyone. Every sportsman has an up, you stay there for a while, then you have a down. It's not easy, but if I still want to play the game I have to accept it otherwise I'll keep getting frustrated with myself.

"Every now and again I'd like to play all right and maybe play for two or three years. But it's tough. I don't know how long I can keep going on playing the way I've been playing."