Barcelona want Pique, Shakira scandal to die down

FC Barcelona are getting concerned about all the noise surrounding veteran defender Gerard Pique amid his personal controversies outside the football field. Last week, he and long-term partner and mother of his children Shakira announced their separation. Apart from that, the footballer has been accused of cheating on the Colombian pop star.

Pique and Shakira became a high-profile celebrity couple after meeting at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, which Spain won. Shakira sang the event's theme song, making it a fairytale situation when it was revealed that the two fell in love.

Almost twelve years later and after having two sons together, the pair decided to separate. Even though it is the off-season, Barcelona are hoping that the news about their player's personal life dies down as soon as possible. Apart from the separation. Pique has also been accused of too much partying as well as having an affair with a young blonde who works as an event hostess. He was even falsely linked with the mother of teammate Gavi.

All of these things, although personal, may affect Pique's performance next season. The last thing the club wants is a distracted player, especially one as important as Pique. Manager Xavi Hernandez has relied heavily on his former teammate last season, but he did spend some time off the pitch due to injury.

Pique's commitment to the club has never been in question, with the Spaniard earning praise for having played for almost three months in pain last season in an effort to help the club out of a slump.

The club wants another central defender to help cover for Pique in the coming season, but they are still confident that he will be an important member of the starting lineup. The medical staff simply need to work well with Xavi and the player himself to determine his limits.

Needless to say, the club thinks that the player does not need any distractions from personal controversies. Pique is also an accomplished businessman, and his ventures off the pitch with Kosmos Global Holding have also previously been criticised for possibly creating a conflict of interest with his responsibilities as a professional player. According to Diario Sport, the Blaugrana want all the extracurricular noise to die down soon as possible.