SHAKIRA has hit out at her footballer ex Gerard Pique, claiming he was in a “constant state of war”.

The Colombian pop star, 47, said she “sacrificed a lot” for love and put her career “on hold” to be with her former partner.

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Shakira said she put her ‘career on hold’ for a long time to be with her ex Gerard PiqueCredit: PA

Shakira and Gerard Pique split in 2022 after 11 years togetherCredit: Instagram

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Pique, formerly of FC Barcelona, and Shakira pose with the trophy after FC Barcelona won the Copa del Rey Final match in 2015Credit: Getty
The singer and the former professional Spanish footballer, 37, were together 11 years before they split very publicly in June 2022.

They share two sons: Sasha, nine, and Milan, 11.

Shakira’s upcoming album – Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, which translates to Women No Longer Cry – helped her “exorcise a lot of the demons that were tormenting me”, she told The Times.

She sings of Pique on one of the tracks: “So much time at the gym/ But maybe work out your brain a bit too.”

The album is the first the singer has released in seven years.

She continued: “For a long time I put my career on hold, to be next to Gerard, so he could play football.

“There was a lot of sacrifice for love.”

Shakira reportedly worked out Pique was allegedly cheating on her when she found an empty jam jar in their fridge.

She was said to have been travelling for a period of time and came home to find the strawberry jam had been eaten – although neither Pique nor their children liked strawberry jam.

The superstar is said to have concluded that her Spaniard partner was having an affair and that someone else had been in their home.

Pique is now dating a student who works for him, a 23-year-old named Clara Chia Marti.

Speaking to The Times about the similarities that exist between music and football, such as money and media scrutiny, Shakira said there were also some pertinent differences.

The star explained: “Empathy is key in an artist’s work. An athlete is in a constant state of war and has to avoid empathy at all costs.

“That’s why it’s probably a really bad idea for an artist to hook up with an athlete.”

The new album represents “the transformation of pain into creativity, frustration into productivity, anger into passion, vulnerability into resilience”, Shakira said.

She added: “There were so many pieces of my life that crumbled in front of my eyes and I had to rebuild myself in a way, picking up the bones from the floor and putting them all together.

“And the glue that kept it all together was music.”

Over the last couple of years, Shakira has also been engrossed in a tax dispute case with Spanish authorities.

It was alleged that she failed to pay more than 14.5 million euro (£13million) between 2012 and 2014.

She resolved the case in November by accepting the charges, thereby receiving a $7million fine and a suspended prison sentence of three years.

The mum-of-two said at the time: “While I was determined to defend my innocence in a trial that my lawyers were confident would have ruled in my favour, I have made the decision to finally resolve this matter with the best interest of my kids at heart who do not want to see their mum sacrifice her personal wellbeing in this fight.”

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Gerard Pique and his new girlfriend Clara ChiaCredit: Instagram

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Shakira and Pique arrive at the red carpet for the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala 2011Credit: Getty

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The popstar testifies at Barcelona Provincial Court on the first day of her trial for allegedly defrauding Spanish tax officials