"People still make fun of it, but I was really depressed" - Raymond van Barneveld looks back on infamous post-retirement interview

Things are looking good for Raymond van Barneveld once again lately. The Dutchman celebrates his 57th birthday on Saturday, a month after "Barney" managed to add another Players Championship tournament to his name.

The five-time world champion's career initially ended in December 2019 with a disappointing defeat to Darin Young at the World Darts Championship. It was an inglorious end for the man who put darts on the map in the Netherlands. ''When I look back at that and hear myself say that life has no meaning anymore.... Then I really think: wow. People still make fun of it, but I was really depressed,'' Van Barneveld said in an interview with AD.nl.

However, the Dutch dart pioneer decided to return to the circuit. ''When Iwe (supervisor Iwe Kuitert, ed.) said to me in 2020 that I had to get my Tour Card again, I also thought: 'why, I just stopped, then I will be the laughing stock of the darts world.' But there was corona, I had no sponsors AND no exhibitions. Then I got Ben de Kok on the line. He said: here is a contract for three years, I am always there for you, but you have to decide for yourself. I don't want to say he saved my life, but I am enormously grateful to him and Iwe.''

Van Barneveld made his comeback on the PDC Tour in 2021 and since then he has since grabbed two PDC ranking titles. The five-time world champion has a much more positive outlook on life these days, and he says he has finally found the perfect set of darts. ''See all these drawers here? Those were packed with equipment, I kept changing. They're all empty now. These darts are all I need. I'm over the moon with them. I've been begging for these for two years and you see the result immediately: I'm full of confidence. Now that the arrows are good, I want to improve my nutrition. Everything one step at a time. If everything has to happen at once, it scares me.''

Van Barneveld has five world titles and for now at least, remains the Dutchman with the most world titles to his name, but he thinks it is a matter of time before Van Gerwen will match him. ''I have already resigned myself to that, I would love that. I have positive jealousy and a lot of respect for him. When I turned 50, he was the only darter to give me a present, a bottle of whiskey. That says enough about Michael. We should be happy with him. Because of him, we are still here at the table.''

'Barney' has expressed that he wants to play darts at least until the age of 60. He hopes to achieve a number of goals in the coming years. ''I know I'm not going to be the very best anymore, but I do believe that. The World Championship changed after my world title so I feel like I don't have it yet. That would be magical. It's also a dream to play the World Cup of Darts again with Michael'', Van Barneveld said.