BORIS BECKER has revealed that Jurgen Klopp was twice blocked from visiting him in prison.
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.
During that spell away from the outside world, 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.
Klopp, whose raw energy and charisma had made Becker a fan of the Kop club, was friendly with the tennis icon.
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.
Becker claimed that the reasoning behind the prison service’s rejection was that a meeting would cause “too much publicity”.
The pair didn’t give up on chatting, however, with the two German sports icons speaking on the phone instead.
Becker needed help from friends and family on the inside, admitting in a recent interview that the stint behind bars took a toll on his mental and physical health.
He told Suddeutsche Zeitung: “This endlessness eats away at your soul and boils your mind.
“You quickly realise that prisons are actually controlled by prisoners.
“Talking to my wife on the phone was my lifeline and the only way I could be myself.
“By October, I was sleeping in my tracksuit and socks. Some nights it was so cold in my cell that I slept in two jackets and two pairs of socks, wrapping a towel around my head.
“I lost seven kilos in the first four weeks. ‘There were several reasons for this: emotional stress, little food, no alcohol, no sweets.
“Dinner was served at 4pm. My wife said with gallows humour, ‘Boris, you’ve gotten so slim, shouldn’t we ask if you can stay longer?'”
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