It’s a travesty Boris Becker was jailed… I want to visit him in prison, says Wimbledon legend and pal John McEnroe
CONCERNED John McEnroe wants to visit close pal Boris Becker in jail.
Three-time Wimbledon winner Becker was sent down in April for two-and-a-half years for hiding £2.5milllion of assets and loans to avoid paying debts.
The 54-year-old – who was found guilty of four charges under the Insolvency Act – is at Huntercombe Prison near Henley and could face deportation at the end of his sentence.
The UK’s most popular German was a big hit on BBC TV but is not on the screens anymore as he swaps Wimbledon for prison robes.
McEnroe, 63, will miss his big mate, saying: “I feel horrible. Boris is a friend of mine, this is just horrible.
“I want to see him if I possibly can, if he’s willing to see people or can.
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“He’s one of the great players that ever played the game. And I know it meant a lot to Boris.
“He’s been going through a lot for a long time. He kept telling me it’s going to be okay. You know, it’s under control.
“That’s Boris, he was just a very confident player on the court.
“But sometimes you’re not necessarily a great investor, you don’t take care of your money off the court as well.
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“And he’s got a lot going on. I don’t know, it shows the importance of having good people around you.
“It seems like there were some people around him that weren’t helping a whole lot. So that’s really unfortunate.
“But I don’t know if any of us anticipated it getting to this point honestly.
“Obviously he didn’t either because from what I understand, he was planning on doing some type of press conference Monday or something a couple of days after the decision was made.
“So, it’s a travesty just any way you look at it.”
++ John McEnroe is part of the BBC’s Wimbledon 2022 line-up. Catch all the action across BBC TV, radio and online from Monday June 27.