BORIS BECKER has opened up about his “shocking” time in prison that saw him given a cell next to a murderer and a paedophile.
Becker, 57, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years behind bars for hiding assets and a loan from his numerous creditors.
The three-time Wimbledon champion ultimately spent a combined eight months at HMP Wandsworth and Huntercombe before being deported from the UK.
Now he has revealed just what it was like to be locked up in a UK prison, admitting he was given no preferential treatment because of his fame or the nature of his crime.
Speaking to Sky News’ The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee, Becker said: “Mine was a white-collar crime, as they say, but my next-door cell neighbour was a murderer, opposite was a paedophile and on the right there were people smugglers and serious drug dealers.
“Everyone is together, so naturally there’s friction.”
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Becker even lifted the lid on how rife drugs and contraband were on the inside, something that left him shocked.
He added: “I didn’t know you could get pretty much everything inside
“I’m talking about the drugs, talking about small phones, talking about food – whatever you wanted.
“Even a bit of alcohol on the weekends. That shocked me.”
During his spell on the inside, Becker leaned heavily on his wife Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro to get him through it.
But he also had the help of some famous faces from the world of sport, including former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
Writing in his book ‘Inside’, Becker revealed that he turned to Klopp for an energy boost while in prison, but was blocked from being able to see the football manager.
Becker had received a message from Klopp, who was keen to come visit him in prison after the pair had struck up a friendship.
However, his book tells that the prison service wouldn’t allow Klopp to visit – denying two separate requests from Klopp and Becker around a month apart due to a visit causing “too much publicity”.
The pair didn’t give up on chatting, however, with the two German sports icons speaking on the phone instead.
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