CELEBRITY
From ‘Boom Boom’ to bust, Becker who served on court, must now serve time
Boris Becker’s thunderous delivery earned him the nickname ‘Boom Boom’ as a 17-year-old Wimbledon winner in 1985 but on Friday, aged 54 and bust, the German great was told he must serve time in prison.
Three times a champion on the grass courts of south-west London, the man who thrilled tennis fans in the 1980s and 90s appeared in a court of law to receive a two-and-a-half year sentence.
Becker was convicted earlier this month of four charges under Britain’s Insolvency Act, including failing to disclose, concealing and removing significant assets following a bankruptcy trial.
Judge Deborah Taylor said the six-times Grand Slam winner had shown no remorse or acceptance of guilt and would have to serve half his sentence behind bars and the remainder on licence.
Becker, who earned $25 million in prize money and many times more in sponsorship during a career that ended in 1999, had been given a suspended jail term and hefty fine for tax evasion by a court in Munich in 2002.
This time there was to be no escape.
The sentence was the latest bombshell in the life of a sporting superstar whose love life and financial problems have generated as many headlines in recent years as his athletic prowess ever did.
Much of his fortune disappeared as a result of his tax problems, while continuing to maintain a lavish lifestyle, some dubious investments and a multi-million dollar divorce settlement with first wife Barbara in 2001.
In 1999 he fathered a child with a Russian model, Angela Ermakova, after a brief sexual encounter in London’s Nobu restaurant while his wife was pregnant with their second child.
The polish of his post-playing life as a BBC television tennis commentator, and a spell as coach to world number one Novak Djokovic, contrasted with the ongoing chaos of his personal affairs.
In 2018 he claimed diplomatic immunity from the bankruptcy proceedings by saying he had been appointed sports envoy to the European Union for Central African Republic and had received a passport at an official ceremony.
Becker had never visited the country, whose foreign minister later said the passport was a “clumsy fake” and launched an enquiry.
On court, Becker was simply sensational. In 1985 he became the first German and first unseeded player to win the Wimbledon singles title, defeating South African-turned American Kevin Curren in four sets, as a callow teenager.
In 1986, with bubbling enthusiasm and using his heavy forehand and spectacular diving volleys to good effect, Becker defended his title successfully against scowling rival Ivan Lendl.
The pair played each other 21 times in the 1980s and early 90s, always with an undercurrent of friction.
While Lendl ultimately edged their career rivalry 11-10 it was Becker who won the three Grand Slam finals they contested, with the German once accusing Lendl of not being “mentally tough”.
Becker also reached the Wimbledon final in 1988, losing to Sweden’s Stefan Edberg. He avenged that loss in a rematch the following year and then lost to the Swede again in the 1990 final.
In 1991 he reached a fourth successive Wimbledon final but lost to compatriot Michael Stich.
Becker also won the U.S. Open in 1989 and the Australian Open in 1991, when he became world number one, and 1996.
He retired with a career tally of 49 singles titles and 15 doubles titles, but clay was always a weakness although he did win the 1992 Olympic men’s doubles gold on the surface in Barcelona.
-Reuters
Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first footballer to reach billionaire status, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which has valued the Portugal great’s net worth at an estimated $1.4 billion.
The 40-year-old striker’s financial ascent comes after he signed a new contract with Saudi side Al-Nassr in June reportedly worth more than $400 million.
Bloomberg said that Ronaldo earned more than $550 million in salary between 2002 and 2023, supplemented by a decade-long Nike deal worth nearly $18 million annually, and lucrative endorsements with Armani, Castrol and others that added more than $175 million to his fortune.
Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr from Manchester United in 2023 had already made him the highest-paid player in football history, with an annual salary of 177 million pounds ($237.52 million), plus bonuses and a reported 15% share in his Saudi Arabia club.
Argentina and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi has earned more than $600 million in pre-tax salary during his career.
Ronaldo’s billionaire status places him among a rare group of athletes that includes basketball greats Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James, golfer Tiger Woods and tennis player Roger Federer.
Ronaldo suggested he is not considering retirement any time soon.
“I still have a passion for this,” he said at the Portugal Football Globes gala on Tuesday. “My family says it’s time to quit and they ask me why I want to score 1000 goals if I’ve already scored 900-something. But I don’t think that way inside.
“I’m still producing good things, I’m helping my club and the national team. Why not continue? I am sure that when I finish I will leave full because I gave everything of myself. I know I don’t have many years left to play, but the few I have left, I have to enjoy them to the fullest.”
-Reuters
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Former England soccer captain David Beckham and actor Gary Oldman were knighted in King Charles’ annual birthday honours list on Saturday, while sculptor Antony Gormley was made a Companion of Honour.
Beckham, 50, joined Manchester United as a trainee in 1993, going on to make almost 400 appearances for the club where he won a string of titles and cups.
He subsequently played for Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, and Inter Milan, as well as captaining his country 58 times and making 115 appearances.
His marriage to fashion designer and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham in 1999 cemented a celebrity status which went far beyond his sporting exploits.
Oldman, 67, started his career on the stage, where he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, before rising to prominence in film. He won the best actor Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in the 2017 drama “Darkest Hour”.
He also had roles in the “Dark Knight Trilogy” and the “Harry Potter” movie series and more recently starred in the TV spy drama “Slow Horses”.
Other famous names receiving honours included damehoods for musical theatre star Elaine Paige, novelist Pat Barker and ceramics maker Emma Bridgewater.
Roger Daltrey, lead singer of rock band the Who and a patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, received a knighthood for services to charity.
More than 1,200 people received honours for their achievements, with a particular focus on those who had given their time to public service, the government said.
King Charles’ official birthday will be celebrated with the annual “Trooping the Colour” military parade in London on Saturday. His actual birthday is on November 14
-Reuters
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One of three judges in Diego Maradona’s closely scrutinized homicide trial in Argentina resigned on Tuesday amid a scandal triggered by the alleged filming of an unauthorised documentary, bringing uncertainty to the future of legal proceedings.
The high-profile trial over the death of soccer star Maradona began on March 11 in the South American country where the World Cup winner is still revered.
-Reuters
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