Shakira changes the lyrics of her song 'La Bicicleta' to avoid naming ex-partner Gerard Pique

Columbian singer Shakira recently changed the lyrics of her song 'La Bicicleta' in a live performance, which had the mention of former Barcelona defender Gerard Pique.

After Shakira and Pique announced their split last year, the Columbian singer decided to give her music career a fresh start. Since then, she has mentioned the former footballer in various songs, such as Te Felicito, Monotonía, and La Bicicleta, directly as well as indirectly.

On October 28 (Saturday), she made a surprise appearance at Carlos Vives' concert in the United States. Before making the surprise appearance, several media reports were anticipating her to appear at an event but nothing was definite.

While Shakira sang her song 'La Bicicleta' on the stage, she dropped Gerard Pique's name. The actual lyrics of the song were:

"Everybody says (lleva, llévame en tu bicicleta). Pa' que juguemos bola 'e trapo allá en Chancleta"

"That if you show Pique the Tayrona one day... Then he won't want to go to Barcelona"

She changed the lyrics to:

"Everybody says (take me, take me on your bike). So that we can play rag-ball there in Chancleta"

"That if you show that guy the Tayrona... Then he won't want to go to Barcelona"

Shakira and Gerard Pique announced their split in June last year. According to Rolling Stone, the former Barcelona defender was also not living with his wife and children during that time.

Gerard Pique backs former teammate to become future Barcelona head coach

Gerard Pique has backed former Barcelona teammate Rafael Marquez to take up the managerial role at Camp Nou in the future. The former Spanish defender played alongside Marquez at Barcelona for two seasons, from 2008 to 2010.

The former Manchester United midfielder stated that Marquez is ready to take up a variety of roles because of his knowledge and understanding of the game. Pique lauded the former Mexican football player by stating that he'd be managing Barcelona or any other La Liga club in the future. He said (via ESPN):

"Yes, for sure. Rafa is more than ready for a range of things [such as coaching Barcelona] because of the attitude he has, his knowledge of the game and his experience.

"He's in a learning process as a coach right now and I am sure that in the future we will see him on a bench in La Liga. We will see if that is with Barca or another team, but he's preparing excellently."

Last year, Rafael Marquez became the manager of Barcelona B and steered them to the Segunda Division play-offs by finishing fourth in Group 2 in his debut season in charge. Before joining the Blaugrana, he was the head coach of the youth team of RSD Alcalá.