Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

CELEBRITY

Boris Becker saves Spain villa at last minute

Tennis legend Boris Becker has saved his holiday villa on the Spanish island of Majorca by coughing up the huge sum he owed a local builder just five minutes before the property was about to go under the hammer.

Published: 6 June 2014 11:10 CEST
Boris Becker saves Spain villa at last minute
Boris Becker has almost lost his Majorca home on two occasions over unpaid bills. Photo: STR/AFP

The 2,900-square metre (31,000-square foot) property was confiscated by Spanish authorities in March after Becker failed to pay a Majorca builder €391,000 ($544,000) for carpentry, plumbing and surfacing of a basketball court.

The six-time German Grand Slam champion, currently in Paris in his role as the trainer of world number two Novak Djokovic, was also told his nine-bedroom property would be auctioned off for €7 million.

But on Thursday Becker saved the property with just minutes to spare when a lawyer acting for him handed over €430,000 ($590,000) to a Majorca judge, Spain's La Vanguardia newspaper reported.

This is the second time Becker has nearly seen his Majorca holiday home sold off. In 2012, he ended up in court on the island over €359,011 in unpaid gardening bills.  

Becker's private life post-tennis has been beset by scandal.

The most infamous interlude involved him having sex with the model Angela Ermakova on a staircase in a London restaurant while his pregnant wife was at home.

Ermakova fell pregnant after the romp, going on to give birth to Becker's daughter Anna.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

PROTEST

Racism ‘swept under carpet’ in Germany, says Boris Becker

Boris Becker says racism in Germany needs to be discussed openly after the tennis icon drew criticism on social media for taking part in a Black Lives Matter protest.

Published: 8 June 2020 17:15 CEST
Racism 'swept under carpet' in Germany, says Boris Becker
Boris Becker. Photo: DPA

The six-time Grand Slam champion claims he was the target of angry comments “from Germany” on Twitter after participating in an anti-racism demonstration in London over the weekend.

Becker spoke out in a video message posted on the platform.

“I must have hit a sore spot with my Tweet about my family history” and Black Lives Matter, said Becker, whose ex-wife Barbara is the daughter of an African-American, while the mother of his second wife Lilly comes from Suriname.

“In our country it is swept a bit under the carpet and I think that's a pity.

“We should talk about it much more publicly”, said the 52-year-old, who called for more social engagement against racism in his native country.

“We are all one family.”

In an earlier Tweet, Becker said he was “shocked, shaken and horrified” by the “many insults ONLY from Germany”.

“Why, why, why? Have we become a country of racists…?” he added.

READ ALSO:

The death of George Floyd, who died in police custody on May 25th in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sparked protests across Europe and Germany at the weekend.

A reported 20,000 turned out in Munich, along with 14,000 in Hamburg, 10,000 in Stuttgart, and large gatherings also took place in Düsseldorf, Freiburg, Cologne, Hanover, Frankfurt and several other cities.

In Berlin, an estimated 15,000 people attended a demonstration at the central Alexanderplatz, despite a registration for only 1,500. Police used Twitter to tell protesters that the event was ‘full' just 45 minutes after its scheduled start time and asked people to stop arriving.

SHOW COMMENTS