Remember when Barney retired in Rotterdam only to make a dramatic u-turn?
Saturday 28 March 2020 18:44, UK
Raymond van Barneveld made an emotional farewell to his Premier League Darts career in Rotterdam 12 months ago.
Despite a 10,000-strong crowd behind him, the five-time world champion flopped miserably in front of his home crowd failed as he crashed out of the Premier League with a humbling 7-1 defeat at the hands of Daryl Gurney.
The Dutchman had been due to retire at the end of the season but - after losing the following night 7-1 to world No 1 Michael van Gerwen - decided to quit.
"Yesterday I don't know where it came from, I played really bad, I lost 7-1 so today I knew I was in relegation and I felt ashamed," Van Barneveld told Sky Sports.
"Five-time world champion and I was thinking 'Do I deserve this? I don't think so' but it is reality. I'm not good enough.
"For me, I've made a decision I am done now. I don't want the pain any more. It's pain every single week for the last three or four years.
"I'm OK with this decision. I'm relieved. I'm done."
That wasn't the end of the drama he soon performed an astonishing retirement u-turn. Barney backtracked to reveal he wanted to go for a sixth world championship at Alexandra Palace.
"I want to end my career at Alexandra Palace during one final world championship," he said. "I hope people understand the difficult times my family and I have been going through and I need to get my head together."
Sadly for Barney, he said farewell to his 35-year professional darts career at Ally Pally when he fell to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of American Darin Young at the first hurdle.
You can still get your darting fix every fortnight as former world no 1 Colin Lloyd, Michael Bridge and Paul Prenderville debate the hot tungsten topics.
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