Sports

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique splits with partner Shakira following cheating scandal after 11-year relationship

Published

2 years ago

June 4, 2022

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Colombian superstar, Shakira, and Barcelona defender, Gerard Pique, announced on Saturday they were calling off their relationship of more than a decade.

Pique met the popstar after appearing in the music video for her single Waka Waka, which was the 2010 World Cup’s official song.

The 45-year-old Hips Don’t Lie crooner is one of the biggest names in the global music industry and has sold more than 60 million albums.

Spanish football hero Pique, 35, won the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 European Championship, and is a three-time Champions League winner with Barcelona.

Pique and Shakira have two children, Sasha and Milan, and had been living together for years on the outskirts of Barcelona.

Spanish publication El Periodico reported that Shakira has caught Pique red-handed cheating on her with another woman. The report further indicates that the pair have decided to live separately, with the Barcelona defender staying alone in his own apartment for weeks now.

READ Devil in the Lord's vineyard: Pastor fakes own kidnap, collects N600,000 ransom contributed by members

“We regret to confirm that we are separating. For the well-being of our children, who are our utmost priority, we request respect for (our) privacy,” they said in a statement.

With her mix of Latin and Arabic rhythms and rock influence, three-time Grammy-winner Shakira is one of the biggest stars from Latin America, scoring major global hits with songs such as “Hips don’t Lie” and “Whenever, Wherever”.

In 2020, she performed with Jennifer Lopez at the halftime show of the NFL’s Super Bowl championship final in Miami, typically one of the most-watched half-hours in US television.

The couple announced their separation just over a week after Spanish court documents inched Shakira closer to standing trial in Spain for tax fraud after a Barcelona court dismissed an appeal from the singer.

Spanish prosecutors accuse her of defrauding the Spanish tax office out of 14.5 million euros ($15.5 million) on income earned between 2012 and 2014.

READ Consumed: Bala-Usman suspended till panel concludes investigations – FG

They say she moved to Spain in 2011 when her relationship with Pique became public but maintained official tax residency in the Bahamas until 2015.

Her defence lawyers say she moved to Spain full time only in 2015 and insist that her “conduct on tax matters has always been impeccable in all the countries she had to pay taxes”.

In an interview with AFP in 2019, Shakira said temporarily losing her voice two years earlier had been “the darkest moment of her life” and affected her “deeply”.

She later recovered her voice naturally, without needing to undergo surgery as recommended by doctors and subsequently carried out a world tour in 2018.

Sports

Usyk defeats Fury to emerge undisputed heavyweight champion

Published

9 hours ago

May 19, 2024

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Oleksandr Usyk has defeated Tyson Fury to become the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the world.

Fury and Usyk fought at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday night.

Usyk won the bout through a split decision, edging the Briton 115-112, 113-114, and 114-113 on the cards.

Fury came out strong in the early rounds of the bout but Usyk was able to stave off the British fighter’s onslaught.

The Ukrainian gained momentum as the fight progressed, with his superior footwork and technical skill allowing him to evade Fury’s powerful blows and land precise shots of his own.

The Ukrainian floored Fury in the ninth round which was the turning point of the much-anticipated fight.

Despite Fury’s valiant effort to recover in the final rounds, Usyk’s dominance had already sealed the victory.

The 37-year-old Ukrainian is the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world since Lennox Lewis 25 years ago. He has now unified the WBA, WBO, IBF, and WBC titles.

READ Why Gerard Pique and I ‘fight’ – Shakira

For Fury, it is the first loss in his 16-year professional career — but he will have a chance at a rematch before the end of the year.

In his post-fight interview, the British boxer accused the judges of giving the victory to Usyk because of the war in Ukraine.

“His country is at war, so people are siding with the country at war,” he said.

Sports

Finidi George unveiled as Super Eagles’ head coach

Published

6 days ago

May 13, 2024

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The Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh, has officially unveiled Finidi George as the new head coach of the Nigerian men national team, the Super Eagles.

The Minister unveiled the former Super Eagles forward at an event in Abuja attended by the leaders of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) at the Media Centre of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja on Monday morning.

“Any country I find an indigenous coach sitting on the bench, I always feel very proud and I am glad that we have an opportunity that have a Nigerian coach, Finidi George, as football men national team coach,” Enoh said during the unveiling.

The former Real Betis winger was appointed permanently after the departure of the Portuguese gaffer Jose Peseiro. He an assistant to Peseiro at the last African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast where the team finished second place.

George’s appointment was announced a few weeks ago after he took charge of the team on an interim basis for the doubleheader international friendly against Ghana and Mali.

READ Police arrest abductors of Dariye's father who collected N10m ransom, killed him

His first assignment as the substantive Head Coach will be the 2026 World Cup qualifier against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in June.

Sports

Ex-Eagles star, Tijjani Babangida’s one-year-old son dies as wife ‘loses eye’ in car crash

Published

6 days ago

May 13, 2024

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Tijjani Babangida, the former Super Eagles player, has lost Fadil, his one-year-old son, in a car crash involving his family along the Kaduna-Zaria highway.

Last Thursday, Babangida was travelling with his family — Maryam, his wife, their son, and Ibrahim, his brother — and his maid when the car incident occurred.

Ibrahim was said to have died on the spot while the other occupants in the vehicle were rushed to the hospital.

But in a recent update, Harrison Jalla, chairman of the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria (PFAN) Task Force, disclosed that Babangida’s son also died due to injury sustained in the accident.

“Yes he eventually lost the son, a one-year-old boy,” Jalla told TheCable on Sunday evening.

Babangida’s wife is also said to have lost an eye due to the severe injury to her face. She is said to be receiving treatment at the intensive care unit of the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria.

READ Devil in the Lord's vineyard: Pastor fakes own kidnap, collects N600,000 ransom contributed by members

It is also reported that their maid suffered a fracture in her leg.

The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) on Sunday paid a courtesy visit to Babangida at the hospital.

The delegation consoled the former Eagles player over the deaths of his brother and son. They also prayed for a quick recovery for Babangida and his wife, “who has undergone a successful facial surgery”.

Babangida is the president of PFAN and was a member of the Nigeria U-23 team that won the gold medal in football at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

He had a decade with the Super Eagles, where he became famous for his speed down the wings.

Babangida was also a member of the Eagles squad at the 1998 World Cup and 2000 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).