Inside Shakira’s very petty split from Gerard Pique – from brutal diss track to row over bizarre witch doll

SHE styled herself as a She Wolf in one of her bigg­est hits — and Shakira’s claws are certainly out as she takes aim at her ex Gerard Pique.

Once one of the world’s most glamorous showbiz couples, the singer and the Spanish football ace are now engaged in an extra­ordinarily bitter split.

Ever since Gerard ditched Shakira for the then 22-year-old Clara Chia Marti this summer, no act of revenge has been considered too petty — with a brutal diss track, savage jibes and even a row over a bizarre witch doll playing out in public.

Last week, 45-year-old Shakira dropped a new track which takes a swipe at love rival Clara’s age with the lyrics: “I’m worth two 22s. You traded a Ferrari for a Twingo, you traded a Rolex for a Casio.”

Gerard, 35, responded by turning up to work in an £8,000 Renault Twingo this weekend and boasting his new seven-a-side project the King’s League had landed a sponsorship deal with Casio — adding that the cheaper watch would “last a lifetime”.

In another twist Shakira put a terrifying life-size witch doll on her balcony, facing her mother-in-law’s house in the same street.

Neighbours reported she also blasted out the new song — BZRP Music Sessions #53 — on repeat so Gerard’s mum, Montserrat Bernabéu, could hear.

‘You left me because of your narcissism’

The vitriolic break-up comes after a 12-year romance which began on the set of the video for Shakira’s 2010 World Cup anthem, Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).

The first of the couple’s two sons, Milan, nine, was born in 2012, prompting Shakira to move from the US to Barcelona. Sasha, seven, arrived two years later.

Although Shakira and Gerard never married, the Colombian singer insisted he was “the one” in a 2014 interview.

“We already have what’s essential. We have a union, a love for each other, and a baby,” she told Glamour magazine.

“Those aspects of our relation­ship are already established, and marriage is not going to change them. But if I’m ever going to get married, he’s the one.”

Ironically, she later revealed she feared becoming a wife would make him lose interest.

“Marriage scares the sh*t out of me. I don’t want him to see me as the wife. I’d rather him see me as his girlfriend, his lover,” she said. “It’s like a little forbidden fruit. I want to keep him on his toes.”

In 2021, the couple appeared to stand together as Shakira faced allega­tions she had dodged £12million in tax owed to the Spanish authorities — a claim she has dismissed as “false” although she has now paid the money in full.

But rumours the former Barcelona star was having an affair emerged in June 2022, and days later, the couple shocked fans with a joint statement announcing their split.

They added: “For the well-being of our children, who are our highest priority, we ask that you respect our privacy. Thank you for your understanding.”

Spanish outlet El Periodico reported that they had been living separately for a few weeks, after Shakira kicked Gerard out of the family home.

Three months later, she was devastated when he went public with new love Clara, now 23. She was also deeply hurt by Gerard’s frequent visits to his parents’ home with Clara, which is in full view of her own.

And she wasn’t going to keep quiet about it. In September, she broke her silence with an emo­tional interview in Elle magazine, saying her situation was “probab­ly the darkest hour of my life”.

She revealed her ex had left her while her 91-year-old dad fought for his life in hospital after a bad fall.

She continued: “For [women] like me who believe in values like family, who had the big dream of having a family for ever, to see that dream broken or shredded into pieces is probably one of the most painful things you can ever go through.”

Shakira also claimed she had sacrificed her own music career by moving to Barcelona saying: “I put my career in second gear and I came to Spain, to support him so he could play football and win titles. And it was a sacrifice of love.”

Her heartbreak hit, Monotonia, released in October, bewailed the monotony that led to the bitter break-up and contained the dig: “Suddenly you were no longer the same.

“You left me because of your narcissism. You forgot what we once were.” The video shows the singer being shot in the chest, then her heart pulled out and stamped on.

As their life unravelled, claims that Gerard had been dating his new love long before the split have fuelled the bitter feud, with some unconfirmed reports suggesting they met at the Davis Cup in 2019.

The scandal has fuelled constant headlines in Spain — and seemingly, more heartbreak for Shakira.

‘A lot of gyms. But work your brain too’

In a New Year message to her 80million Instagram fans, she wrote that she knew how it felt when “wounds are still open”.

She added: “Even if someone’s betrayed us, we must continue to trust others. When faced with contempt, continue to know your worth. Because there are more good people than indecent ones.”

But the sniping and revel­ations have continued to escalate, leading to a brutal war of words.

This month, Shakira was said to be “devastated” over new footage of a Zoom interview from August 2021, which seemed to show Clara at the family home in Spain.

It was ten months before she and Gerard announced their separation. The video shows a woman resembling Clara stepping into the frame as Gerard spoke to US video live-streaming service Twitch, while Shakira was reportedly abroad with the boys.

The bitter star’s new diss track, which has had more than 110million views on YouTube, swipes at Gerard, Clara and her mother-in-law.

In an apparent dig at the former Manchester United and Barcelona defender, Shakira sings: “A lot of gyms. But work your brain a little bit too.”

She adds: “No hard feelings baby, I wish you the best with my supposed replacement.”

Referring to her tax fraud case and her proximity to Gerard’s family home, she sings: “You left me my mother-in-law as my neighbour, press at my door and in debt with the treasury.”

She also uses a play on words against her rival, adding: “She has the name of a good person, It’s clearly not what it sounds like”. The Spanish word for “clearly” — “claramente” — which sounds similar to Clara Marti’s name, is emphasised.

Defending her song on Twitter, amid accusations of misogyny against Clara, Shakira wrote: “This is for all the women who taught me that when life throws bitter lemons at you, all you can do is make lemonade.”

Fans took it as a reference to Beyonce’s album Lemonade, about the infidelity of husband Jay-Z. The feud reached a new level this weekend amid reports Shakira has installed a witch on a broomstick at her home — looking directly at Montserrat Bernabéu’s house.

Reports say relations between the two turned sour after Gerard’s mum readily welcomed her son’s new girlfriend into the family.

Journalist Marc Leirado said the mannequin, with long grey hair and a witch’s hat, had spooked Montserrat. “Weeks ago, I got some information that Gerard’s mother was worried about an alleged ritual that was done to her with a black witch,” Marc wrote.

He says Gerard’s mum had asked a member of Shakira’s staff to remove it and it was temporarily taken down before being put back.

Yesterday, Shakira was having the last laugh as the new song made history, by becoming the fastest Spanish track to make 100million views on YouTube.

Whatever happens next in the savage tit for tat, you can expect the She-Wolf to bite back.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk