Boris Becker: I won’t sell Wimbledon trophies to clear my debts
GETTY Becker, 50 next month, became the youngest ever Wimbledon champion in 1985, aged just 17
In an upbeat message on his Twitter account he vowed to battle back, declaring: “Don’t waste moments thinking about the past. Move on, the best is yet to come.” Becker, 50 next month, became one of the world’s richest sportsmen after winning Wimbledon three times and clinching a total of six grand slam titles during a glittering career. He became the youngest ever Wimbledon champion in 1985, aged just 17. But bad business investments and unpaid tax bills along with payouts to his ex-wife and a lover have brought him to the brink of financial ruin. Yesterday Becker re-tweeted a post quoting his German lawyers, saying reports he was having to sell his trophies were “inaccurate”. Becker’s legal team also “vehemently deny” that he owes as much as £54million.
GETTY Becker with the trophy after his straight-sets victory over Ivan Lendl in 1986
The tennis legend once borrowed £2million from British billionaire friend John Caudwell, 64, paying an interest rate reported to be 25 per cent to avoid jail over tax. A spokesman for Phones 4U co-founder Mr Caudwell said the loan, which Becker is said to have begged for, has been repaid, although later than agreed. Becker, now married to Dutch model Lily Kerssenberg, 41, was declared bankrupt by the High Court in London earlier this year over a debt of up to £10.5million to a private bank. The father-of-four, a TV pundit for the BBC and others, offered to remortgage his £5.2million property in Mallorca as part of a deal to pay off the money but Judge Christine Derrett declared him bankrupt anyway, saying: “One has the impression of a man with his head in the sand.”