Boris Becker in London trial: “very difficult to make money with my name“

Boris Becker said he wasn’t able to earn enough to pay his debts because of bad publicity and “expensive lifestyle commitments”

Tennis great Boris Becker, who is on trial in London accused of failing to hand over his assets after he was declared bankrupt, has told a jury about his struggles with money including payments for an “expensive divorce” and debts when he lost large chunks of his income after retirement.

Becker, 54, said Monday he wasn’t able to earn enough to pay his debts because of bad publicity when his reputation declined. He said he had “expensive lifestyle commitments” including a house in Wimbledon that cost 22,000 pounds ($28,800) in rent each month.

He added that his divorce with ex-wife Barbara Becker in 2001 involved high child support payments for their two sons. He said that was on top of him having to support his daughter Anna Ermakova and his mother in a deal which included a 2.5-million pound ($3.3 million) London apartment.

Becker was declared bankrupt in June 2017 and is on trial accused of 24 charges including failing to hand over his trophies and other awards, including an Olympic gold medal, and concealing property from bankrupcty trustees.

He allegedly hid over $1 million from the sale of a Mercedes car dealership he owned in Germany, and transferred hundreds of thousands of pounds to other accounts.

The six-time Grand Slam champion denies the charges.