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Shakira set social media alight on Sunday night after she was spotted sharing a heartwarming exchange with Spain's Ferran Torres after his team's victory at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The 49-year-old Colombian superstar joined comedian Kevin Hart, 47, to hand the 26-year-old striker the Man of the Match award following his match-winning goal against Argentina in the World Cup final. As she offered her congratulations to Torres, the pair were filmed chatting and smiling together, sparking instant buzz across the internet.
Supporters wasted no time flooding social media with commentary about the exchange, with several referencing Shakira's ex-partner, former soccer legend Gerard Piqué. The couple spent 11 years together before their widely publicized breakup in June 2022.
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One person wrote on X, "Shakira handing him MOTM... Torres [is] winning on and off the pitch tonight." Another added, "Torres won her heart... he's gonna eat good."
The interaction also underscored Shakira's enduring connection to the worldwide tournament. The 2026 competition represents her fourth involvement with the World Cup, eclipsing Piqué's three tournament appearances as a Spanish player in 2010, 2014 and 2018, reports the Express US.
Shakira made her World Cup debut in Germany in 2006, followed by appearances in South Africa in 2010 and Brazil in 2014. Throughout the years, she has become synonymous with the competition, particularly after delivering Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) at the 2010 closing ceremony, where she initially crossed paths with Piqué.
Their romance collapsed following allegations the footballer had cheated on her with his current partner, Clara Chía. Since the split, Shakira has been candid about the emotional impact and her journey toward healing. In a 2024 interview with GQ Spain, she described how creating her album Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran became essential to processing the breakup.
"For many months after my separation, I had been silent, trying to begin my mourning, but I couldn't really begin to grieve until I started writing music," she said. "It was my way of healing. And it continues to be. Grief is a process that is not linear. It is full of peaks and valleys."
She offered further insight during a June cover feature with People, stating, "Behind every experience in life, there's always a lesson, and we have to be grateful for all those lessons, even for the people that leave you with scars."
She continued, "Those lessons just make us better," before adding, "I always thought that I was more fragile or weaker than what life proved me to be." Shakira and Piqué are parents to two boys, Milan, 13, and Sasha, 11.
Despite the history, the artist has kept her deep ties to the World Cup intact. Discussing the competition, she said, "Every World Cup is really magical, and I think this one is going to be all about bringing people together in this very sensitive moment in time, socially and politically." She added, "I have this connection with [soccer] that seems unbreakable."
