Van Barneveld's new manager: 'If he starts giving really bad, annoying interviews again in which he puts himself down, it stops immediately'

Ben de Kok will be Raymond van Barneveld's new manager during his comeback and he revealed in a recent interview that it has been mainly done due to friendship.

De Kok has been previously Van Barneveld's manager twice and revealed that one of his main issues with the partnership is his attitude to darts. "This will be the third and hopefully the last time. I had to think about this for a long time. Raymond can sometimes be a terrible whiner and very negative person, I have a very difficult time with that," said de Kok to RTL 7 .

"So why do I do it anyway? For 50% out of friendship. and for the other 50% because he remains a friend of mine and is actually a good person in himself. But mainly because he has indicated that he is feeling much better than in recent years."

Van Barneveld will need to train hard on and off dart board

"I have also taken care of Jeffrey de Zwaan before," continues de Kok. "Jeffrey is also a pretty lazy person. Since he has been under contract with me, he has to get up early every morning to go to the gym and practice hard afterwards. That has now been discussed with Raymond, only if he sticks to that can it work."

"They will also have to forward videos so that I can check if they are taking it seriously. And rest assured that I will study those videos carefully so that they don't send the same thing twice. Plus, it will be a good training partner for Jeffrey too."

No more negative interviews

With Bengi, De Kok has a thriving business and a particularly busy life. "I'm not doing this for the money, but to get him where I want. However, if he starts giving really bad, annoying interviews again in which he puts himself down, it stops immediately. Besides, I don't want to hear any more nagging about diabetes or about his eyes, no more excuses, just work really hard."