Pique’s mum ‘helped him hide Clara Chia affair’ as defiant ex-Barca star makes cruel dig at Shakira after bitter split

GERARD Pique's mum helped him hide his reported affair from Shakira, sources claim.

It comes as the ex-Barcelona star made a cruel dig at the Colombian pop star as he insisted he was "very happy" following their bitter split.

Pique, 36, and Shakira, 46, called time on their 11-year romance last June before he then went official with his new girlfriend Clara Chia, 23.

It was reported that Shakira recruited a team of professionals to snoop on her ex before their messy break-up.

She is said to have hired a private investigator to trail Pique to confirm her suspicions.

The super sleuth spotted the Spaniard frequently visiting the nightclub where his now girlfriend worked,  reported.

Rumours had also swirled that Shakira first smelt a rat after taking a look in her fridge at their five-storey Barcelona property.

The songstress is said to have returned home from a period of travelling to find her strawberry jam had been eaten, which Pique didn't like.

It is now claimed Pique's mum Montserrat Bernabéu knew he was cheating on Shakira and even helped him cover up the reported affair, reports .

Journalist Laura Fa claimed: “Everything is because when the relationship between Piqué and Clara Chía began, they took refuge in a house that Piqué’s parents have in Cabrils (Spain).

“While Shakira cried on her mother-in-law’s shoulder, she was an accomplice in hiding this new relationship."

Following the split, Shakira positioned a creepy witch doll on her balcony in Barcelona - pointed directly at her former mother-in-law-s home.

The Hips Don't Lie singer has also penned a scathing diss track with multiple references to Pique and his new girlfriend.

Speaking to Jimmy Fallon, Shakira this month said the song has been "a healthy way to channel my emotions" - and added she had to "put up with so much c**p".

But days after, she was spotted appearing to cry as she spoke to an unidentified woman at New York's M&M store.

Pique, meanwhile, has said he is "very happy" following huge changes in his life, including the breakdown of his relationship and his retirement from football.

The former Barcelona defender, who has two sons with Shakira, also insisted he's not concerned about his public image.

He shut down a question about Shakira for the second time in less than a week in a new interview, repeating an answer he gave on a Spanish radio station last Tuesday by saying that he wasn’t going to talk about it because “he didn’t feel like it.”

'I AM VERY HAPPY'

He told Spanish newspaper El Pais: “Each parent has the responsibility to try to do the best for their children.

“It’s about protecting them. That’s the work of all parents with their children. That’s what I’m focused on and that’s my job as a father.”

Insisting he was doing “what he wanted”, he added: “The day I die, I will look behind me and I hope to have done everything I wanted.

“I want to be true to myself. I’m not going to spend money on cleaning up my image.

“The people I worry about and love are the ones that know me. I don’t care about the rest. I channel my energy into being with my people and giving them what I have. I am very happy.

“There have been changes in my life and I have known how to maintain my happiness.”

It comes as Shakira was expected to move to Miami in January with sons Milan, 10, and Sasha, eight.

But the plans were delayed due to her 91-year-old father's poor health.

The music icon has now set a new date of April 1, according to Shakira expert Laura Fa.