Darts legend Raymond van Barneveld is putting his trophies up for sale a month after calling time on his career.

The five-times world champion said he wanted to give something back to his fans and insisted he was not being forced into the sale for financial reasons. ‘A lot of people will say: “He’s getting divorced and needs the money”. Well, you can take a look at my bank statements and see that’s definitely not the case,’ he told NOS.

He said he planned to invest the proceeds in setting up a new professional darts team. ‘I can use the money to realise my dream,’ he said.

The 52-year-old from The Hague retired from the sport a month ago after losing in the first round of the PDC World Darts Championships to the American world number 84, Darin Young.

‘Barney’, as he was universally known, won five world darts titles between 1998 and 2007, beating Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor in his only PDC triumph. His trophy cabinet also includes two World Masters titles, two World Darts Trophy wins and two PDC UK Open titles.

But van Barneveld said he had no desire to hold on to his past glories. ‘I don’t need it any more, seriously.

‘It seems like a nice thing to do for the fans who’ve followed me for years, to offer it to them.’