Shakira & Gerard Pique speak out in joint statement after custody deal paves way for her move to Miami with sons, 9 & 7
SHAKIRA and Gerard Pique have confirmed they have signed a child custody agreement that will avoid them warring in court.
The 45-year-old Colombian pop star will relocate to Florida with sons Milan, nine, and Sasha, seven, early in the New Year after reaching a deal with the recently retired footballer.
Pique, who broke down in tears on Saturday at Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium during an emotional farewell speech after retiring from football.
The couple released a statement- signed ‘Shakira and Gerard’ – this afternoon following a marathon 12-hour meeting with their lawyers which ended in the early hours.
“We have signed an agreement that guarantees the welfare of our children and that will be ratified in court as part of a mere formal procedure,” they said.
“Our sole objective is to provide them with the upmost security and protection, and we trust that their privacy will be respected.
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“We appreciate the interest shown and hope that the children can continue with their lives with the necessary privacy in a safe and calm environment.”
Shakira’s wish to move to the city where she used to live and part of her family are based is understood to have been the principal sticking point in the couple’s previous failure to strike an out-of-court settlement.
The summit meeting ended with a deal lifting the main stumbling block in the couple’s ongoing attempts to reach an out-of-court settlement.
The talks happened on Monday afternoon at their former family home in Esplugues de Llobregat on the outskirts of Barcelona.
It didn’t finish until the early hours of Tuesday morning according to local press.
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The negotiations were described as “intense” by respected Catalan daily El Periodico.
Rival La Vanguardia, which also reported on the agreement “after 12 hours of negotiation” added: “Milan and Sasha will go with Shakira to Miami.
“The children will spend Christmas in Barcelona but as soon as 2023 begins, the footballer will say goodbye and assume a painful sacrifice so that the youngsters don’t experience an even more traumatic separation between their parents.
“He will be able to cross the Atlantic Ocean to see them whenever he wants. The costs will be borne by both of them.”
The pair announced they had split in May following unconfirmed claims Pique was cheating on his long-term partner with a younger woman.
Shakira’s split from Pique after a relationship lasting 11 years had become the soap opera of the summer in Spain and elsewhere as their chosen careers took a back seat to lurid reports about their private life.
On Saturday Pique was filmed kissing and cuddling his new girlfriend Clara Chia in the stands at Barcelona’s stadium after his emotional farewell tribute.
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The pair hugged each other and locked lips as they chatted with friends.
Shakira appeared to hit out at her ex in a new song she released last month called Monotonia with references to the “narcissism” and “cold as Christmas” attitude of a man she is breaking up with.