Tennis Ace Boris Becker On Life In Prison: "I Was A Nobody...You Are A Number, Mine Was A2923EV"
Boris Becker says he faced death threats while in prison.The three-time Wimbledon champ, 55, was recently released from jail after serving eight months of his two-and-a-half-year sentence for hiding £2.5 million (S$4.11 mil) in assets to avoid paying his debts.
In an interview with German TV presenter Steven Gatjen on the country's broadcaster Sat1 on Tuesday (Dec 20) — Becker's first since his release — Becker said (via Daily Mail), “I thought I would lose my life in [HMP] Wandsworth. Someone, a murderer I later found out, wanted my coat and he wanted money and he said he would kill me if he didn't get it.
“Then in Huntercombe another murderer said they wanted to kill me, he told me what he was going to do to me unless I let him do my laundry, this was only very recently, in October and when he told me my food tray was shaking.
“But in the end the next day he fell to his knees in front of me, apologised and kissed my hand and said he respected me.”
Footage of Becker's interview showed how he has lost weight and sporting dyed strawberry blonde hair instead of his usual silver.
He added: “I went to jail weighing 97 kilograms and later I was 90 kilograms but since then a few kilograms have been added. Prison was good for my health, there was no alcohol except homemade schnapps.”
Becker went on about his terror on entering Wandsworth: “I just looked at the floor a lot. I didn’t want to look anyone in the eye and upset them.
“It was extremely dangerous and extremely dirty. It’s just cell after cell and you meet all sorts in there, all criminals from London, murderers, child molesters, drug dealers and rapists.
“I was body searched, because they look for drugs and parts of mobile telephones and then my picture was taken and some people wanted to have their picture taken with me.
“I had two big concerns — one was a double cell, sharing a cell with someone who could attack you or threaten you and then the shower cubicles.
“You close the door, take your clothes off and look behind you. It’s not human. You have seen the films and dropping the soap but then the governor explained to me and that it would be safe, so I was grateful to him.”
He added letters from fans and a priest arranging for him to call his mother Elvira, 87, at home in Germany, helped keep him sane.
Becker also said nobody gave “a f***” about his fame when he was in prison.
He added: “You are nobody in prison. You are a number. Mine was A2923EV.
“I was a number. And they don’t give a f*** who you are.
“I think I rediscovered the person I used to be. I’ve learned a hard lesson. A very expensive one. A very painful one. But the whole thing taught me something important and good. And some things happen for a good reason.”
Becker is said to have been paid £435,000 for the interview, with UK broadcasters also reportedly showing interest in buying up the show.
The fallen grand slam icon also revealed his fear of being forced to share a cell with murderers and rapists when he was first imprisoned at HMP Wandsworth, before being moved to Huntercombe.
Despite Becker’s reported fee for the interview and the fact he has spent three years filming for an upcoming Apple TV+ documentary about his life leading up to his jailing, his lawyer Christian-Oliver Moser has insisted: “My client does not receive any money to talk about his crimes.”
Becker is also said to have several book deals in the pipeline.
A Sat1 spokesperson told MailOnline they would not discuss the fee for the show, adding: “Trust is a valuable asset in cooperation and this includes Sat1 not quoting from contracts.”
Becker is barred from doing business in Germany until 2031 due to the bankruptcy proceedings against him, but it has been reported he could earn income through a company set up by his risk analyst girlfriend Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro.
