Gerard Piqué: who is Shakira’s ex, was he her husband - who is his new girlfriend Clara Chia Marti?

After more than a decade together, singer Shakira and her partner Gerard Piqué announced earlier this year that they had gone their separate ways.

Since then, Piqué has been criticised by Shakira’s fans after he was spotted with his reported new girlfriend, three months after the breakup.

This is everything you need to know.

Who is Gerard Piqué?

Piqué is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Barcelona.

He was born on 2 February 1987 in Barcelona and started his footballing career in his youth, playing for Barcelon between 1997 and 2004, and Manchester United in 2004.

He began his senior career with Manchester from 2004 to 2008, and was on loan to Real Zaragoza from 2006 to 2007. He has played for Barcelona since 2008.

In 2018, Piqué announced his retirement from international football, having played for Spain since 2009.

Between 2011 and 2012, Piqué was the face of four consecutive campaign seasons for clothing brand Mango’s men’s line, called HE.

Outside of football, Piqué is also the founder and president of Kosmos Holding, a sports and media investment group. In 2018, through Kosmos, Piqué bought the Spanish football club FC Andorra, and last year he and streamer Ibai Llanos founded and became co-owners of the esports team KOI.

When were he and Shakira together?

Piqué and Shakira dated for 11 years, after meeting on the set of the Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) music video.

The tune was the official song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, held in South Africa, and thus a number of footballers made an appearance in the video - including Piqué.

In an interview with 60 Minutes in 2020, Shakira said: “I wasn’t a soccer fan, so I didn’t know who he was. When I saw the video, I was like, “Hmm, that one’s kind of cute”, and then someone decided to introduce us.”

The two made their relationship official on social media in March 2011, when they shared a picture on Twitter and Facebook of the footballer hugging the singer from behind, with the caption: “Les presento a mi sol [I present to you my sun].”

They made their red carpet debut together in January 2012 when Shakira accompanied Piqué to the 2011 FIFA Ballon d’Or Awards gala in Switzerland, then, later that year in September, they announced that they were expecting their first child together.

On her website, Shakira wrote: “As some of you may know, Gerard and I are very happy awaiting the arrival of our first baby!

“At this time we have decided to give priority to this unique moment in our lives and postpone all the promotional activities planned over the next few days.”

The couple then welcomed their son, Milan, into the world on 22 January 2013.

Then the following year, in August 2014, Shakira revealed that baby number two was on the way with a Facebook announcement that read: “Yes, we are expecting our second baby!! Thank you all for your well wishes!”

Their second son, Sasha, arrived on 29 January 2015.

Ahead of her Super Bowl performance in 2020, Shakira opened up about her reservations about marriage.

She told 60 Minutes: “To tell you the truth, marriage scares the s**t out of me. I don’t want him to see me as the wife. I’d rather him see me as his girlfriend.”

She added: “His lover, his girlfriend. It’s like forbidden fruit, you know? I wanna keep him on his toes.

“I want him to think that anything’s possible depending on behaviour.”

When did they break up?

Shakira and Piqué announced their separation on 4 June 2022 with a joint statement after 11 years together.

The statement said: “We regret to confirm that we are separating.

“We ask for privacy at this moment for the well-being of our children, who are our maximum priority.

“Thank you in advance for your understanding and respect.”

Who is Clara Chia Marti?

Following his split from Shakira, Piqué has started dating 23 year old student Clara Chia Marti.

Marti is studying public relations, and has been reported as working for Piqué’s company Kosmos.

There isn’t much public information about Marti, and while she appears to be active on social media, all of her accounts are set to private.

A source reportedly told the Sun: “Gerard and Clara have been seeing each other for months.

“She is a student who also works for him in his office, organising events.

“They have been keeping quiet about their relationship but those around them all know what is happening.

“People have been helping him keep the romance hush hush and have wiped Clara’s social media accounts so people can’t find photos of her.

“That alone makes his mates think he is actually quite serious about being with her.”