Raymond van Barneveld makes sensational retirement U-turn after tearfully quitting on live TV

DUTCH legend Raymond van Barneveld has performed a sensational U-turn on his decision to quit the oche.

The five-time World Champion announced his retirement from the sport in a tearful farewell live on Sky Sports on Thursday night – saying he “did not want this pain any more”.

RVB, 51, had just lost 7-1 to Michael van Gerwen in Rotterdam and been relegated from the Unibet Premier League.

But now Barney has backtracked to reveal he wants to go for a sixth World Championship and end his career in a blaze of glory at Ally Pally.

Van Barneveld said: “In my private life there have been so many troubles, and as a dart player you try not to but you take all that with you on stage.

“I was humbled that I was given the chance to play in the Premier League this year and really wanted to show everybody the true Barney, but it was only glimpses that I could give.

“My personal problems got the better of me and I was always catching up to my opponents on stage.

‘I FELT ASHAMED’

“Yesterday all those emotions came together and I couldn’t handle that at that moment.

“I felt ashamed on stage in front of my family, my friends and the Barney Army. I felt I let everyone down and that pain was very hard to deal with.

“In the heat of the moment I only wanted to never feel that again, but I realise that I should not speak out like that when I feel such raw emotion.

“I want to end my career at Alexandra Palace during one final World Championship.

“I hope people understand the difficult times my family and I have been going through and I need to get my head together.

OUT OF THE SPOTLIGHT

“I will take a couple of days off for this and then try to compete as well as I can in the floor tournaments out of the spotlight in the coming weeks.”

That defeat to MVG came just 24 hours after another 7-1 drubbing at the hands of Daryl Gurney, which sealed his elimination from the competition at the halfway stage.

Just an hour after announcing he was quitting on Sky Sports, a statement from Van Barneveld’s management was published on his official Twitter account, revealing the icon has agreed to “take a couple of days to clear the mind and think about the future”.

Now he has announced he will continue to compete on the PDC circuit until the end of the season before finally calling time on his illustrious career.

After dropping out of the world’s top 32 following this year’s UK Open, Barney climbed back to 30th in the Order of Merit by finishing runner-up in a Players Championship event earlier this month.

That run offered renewed hope in his quest to qualify for the remaining ranked majors this year, including December’s World Championship – which has been the Dutchman’s main target since initially announcing his retirement plans last November.

Van Barneveld is among the list of entries for Players Championship 9 & 10 in Barnsley and is set to make his return on April 6.

Sky Sports pundit and Barney’s pal Wayne Mardle predicted this outcome on Thursday night.

He said: “I think he’s being reactionary to the results. He’s taken the defeat last night and tonight to heart.

“I just think the emotions are getting the better of him. I hope I’m right, I don’t want him to retire.”