Shakira says she put her "career on hold" for ex Gerard Piqué

She told The Times: "For a long time I put my career on hold, to be next to Gerard, so he could play football.

"There was a lot of sacrifice for love."

The 'Hips Don't Lie' hitmaker outright admitted that an artist and an athlete probably shouldn't be together, because the latter struggles with "empathy" in her eyes.

She explained: "Empathy is key in an artist's work. An athlete is in a constant state of war and has to avoid empathy at all costs. "That's why it's probably a really bad idea for an artist to hook up with an athlete."

When it was suggested that she should date a fellow artist, she replied: "I don't know what I need..."

Shakira is releasing the Spanish album 'Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran' this month, and she says making the record helped her "rebuild" herself after her life fell apart following the breakdown of her longtime relationship.

The 'Whenever, Wherever' hitmaker - who was with the soccer star for a decade until 2022, after it was alleged he had an affair - said: "There were so many pieces of my life that crumbled in front of my eyes and I had to rebuild myself in a way, picking up the bones from the floor and putting them all together. And the glue that kept it all together was music."