Gerard Pique refuses to spend money to 'clean up image' amid Shakira feud

FC Barcelona legend turned entrepreneur Gerard Pique has been embroiled in a number of controversies surrounding his personal life in the past year. However, despite having his name dragged across the mud thanks to his split from Colombian pop superstar Shakira, he says he isn't planning on spending a single cent on cleaning up his image.

The former power couple announced their split last summer, but not before rumours started to spill about infidelity on the part of the former Spain international. Pique and Shakira had been together for over ten years and share two sons together, which is why the public was quick to judge the footballer when rumours emerged that he had allegedly destroyed his family unit even though he and the singer never sealed the deal with marriage.

During that same summer, Pique went public with his new relationship with 23-year-old PR student Clara Chia Marti, who also happens to be an intern at his company, Kosmos Holding. At that time, Pique was still playing for FC Barcelona and fans in the stands did not hesitate to let him know how they felt.

During the club's pre-season tour of the USA, Pique was met with boos and whistles whenever he touched the ball. Even back in Spain, there was clear animosity from the crowd on many occasions during matches. Soon after, Pique decided to terminate his contract early and officially retire from professional football just months into the current campaign. It is unclear if his personal issues had anything to do with his professional decision.

Despite ending his football career, all is not lost for Pique, who has a number of lucrative projects with Kosmos.

Shakira did not hold back from publicly attacking Pique

While Pique was publicly flaunting his new relationship, the Colombian singer did not hesitate to let the public know exactly how she felt about her ex and his new girlfriend.

She released a series of singles which clearly had lyrics aimed at Pique and Chia. She started her tirade with the single "Te Felicito" where sings "Don't say you're sorry. It seems to be sincere but I know you well. I know you're lying." The song goes on about what may have transpired after Shakira caught on about Pique's affair and how he may have initially tried to act sorry.

After their split was finalised, Shakira let loose with an even more direct dig at both Pique and Clara Chia with the smash hit "Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53."

In this song, she sings, "Good luck with my so-called replacement. I don't even know what happened. You're acting so weird, I don't even recognize you." She then went on to reference Chia's age, "I'm worth two 22-year-olds," before adding: "You traded in a Ferrari for a Twingo. You traded in a Rolex for a Casio"

Pique trolls Shakira with new business deals stemming from her song

Not long after the song's release, Pique hit back by driving to work in a Renault Twingo. He also announced a new partnership with Casio and his "King's League" tournament. The former footballer even handed out Casio watches to his companions during a Twitch livestream session while talking about the watchmaker's new involvement in the tournament.

Needless to say, he has been milking the negative attention that he is getting by turning it into lucrative deals for his business. He also told El Pais that he may have many more haters now than he used to, but he is happy. "There have been changes in my life and I have been able to maintain my happiness," he said.

The former Barcelona defender shared that he is not concerned about the public's perception of him and his current relationship. "The people I care about and the people I love are the ones who know me. I don't care about anyone else," he said.

Pique went on to emphasise that he does not see himself having any regrets about his decisions and he is not about to spend money trying to change what people think of him. "The day I die, I will look back and hope that I have always done what I wanted to do. I want to be true to myself. I'm not going to spend money cleaning up my image," he declared.

Putting the children first and moving forward

Pique then appeared to slam Shakira for her actions and said that the priority for both of them should always be the well being of their children. "Everyone has a responsibility to try to do what is best for their children. That's what I'm focused on and that's my job as a father," he said.

It is understood that Shakira has been planning to move back to Miami with their two sons, Milan, 10 and Sasha, 8. According to the former couple's custody agreement, the children will reside primarily with their mother, with holidays shared between them.