Five-time world darts champion Raymond Van Barneveld has announced he will retire after the 2019/20 Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) world championship.
The Dutch legend is only one of three players - along with Eric Bristow (five) and Phil Taylor (16) - to be crowned world champion five times, claiming victory in 1998,99, 2003 and 2005 in the British Darts Organisation, and then in 2007 with the PDC.
Van Barneveld has won 29 PDC titles over his career, including two UK Opens (2006, 07), the Grand Slam of Darts (2012) and the Premier League (2014).
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The 51-year-old, who was a finalist at this year's Auckland Darts Masters, admitted he no longer has what it takes to compete regularly at the top of the sport.
"Next year is going to be my 35th year of playing darts at the highest level and it's going to be my last year," Van Barneveld told the Darts Show on Sky Sports UK.
"I noticed, in myself, that I can't keep up anymore. I know what I can do, but it's just not been happening for the past three or four years, apart from winning the World Cup with Michael [van Gerwen].
"I'm not winning tournaments anymore. I don't know why, but a lot of things have happened in my private life and I've also noticed that my body isn't feeling 100 percent anymore - I don't have the drive, motivation or fitness to carry on.
"I'm a winner, that's what I do - I lift trophies, but I can't do it anymore. Maybe there are still a couple of titles left in me and that would be amazing, but I can't do this every week anymore.
"I don't want my career to fizzle out which is why I've made the decision to retire at the end of next year."
Van Barneveld's health issues date back nearly 10 years, when he was diagnosed with Type Two diabetes, which has hindered his performances on the big stage.
This year's world championship - Van Barneveld's penultimate chance to win a sixth world title - starts at Alexandra Palace on December 14, with the final scheduled for January 2 2019 (NZT).
"I absolutely believe I can still be world champion again in one of my last two attempts," Van Barneveld added.
"If you told me, after my 2007 world championship win over Phil [Taylor], that it would be my last world championship, then I would've said you were a fool, but in the last few years, we have seen phenomenal players playing at an outstanding level.
"My grandmother always said, 'if you believe, then you can achieve anything you want' and I still believe I can do this - but not for many more years."
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