Shakira’s Ex Gerard Piqué Announces Major Career Move Amid Dramatic Split

Shakira’s ex just made a big decision when it comes to his career. Gerard Piqué recently announced his retirement from soccer after playing professionally for nearly 20 years. The Spanish soccer star shared the news on an Instagram post which includes a video of him watching old home footage of himself as a child.

The video also features Piqué seemingly addressing the talk around his split with Shakira and the comments she made to Elle magazine. “The last few weeks, months lot of people have been talking about me. Until now, I haven’t said anything, he said per Entertainment Tonight. “But now, I want to be the one talking about me.”

Piqué then went on to talk about his career and what soccer has meant to him. “I’ve been thinking a lot about that kid lately. About what little Gerard would have thought if he had been told that all his dreams would come true,” he says in Catalan. “That he would make it to Barça first team. That he would win every trophy possible. That he would become European Champion. And World Champion. That he would play alongside the best players in history. That he would become one of the team’s captains. That he would make friends for life.”

The 35-year-old continued: “And now that all that kid’s dreams have come true, I want to tell you that I’ve decided that now is the time to bring this journey to its end. I’ve always said that there would not be any other team after Barça. And that’s how it will be.” Piqué played for Barcelona since 2008. Before joining Barcelona, Piqué was a member of Manchester United from 2004-2008 and also played for Real Zaragoza from 2006-2007 via loan. Piqué was a member of the Spain national team from 2009-2018 and has been on the Catalonia national team since 2008. In his career, Piqué helped Manchester United win the Premier League in 2007-08, helped Barcelona win the UEFA Champions League three times and helped Spain win the World Cup in 2010. 

Piqué and Shakira, 45, called things off in June after being together for 12 years. The couple was never married and share two sons together. In Elle magazine, Shakira said: “Regardless of how things ended or how Gerard and I feel about each other as ex-partners, he is the father of my children. We have a job to do for these two incredible boys, and I have faith that we will figure out what is best for their future, their own dreams in life, and what is a fair solution for everyone involved. And I hope and would appreciate if we were given the space to do that privately.”