Shakira's love life is back in the Spanish headlines. Reports in the country have linked the Colombian singer with Congolese-Spanish Serge Ibaka, the former Real Madrid basketball player, pointing to repeated meetings between the pair over the past months. Sources close to them insist they are merely friends.
"El Gordo y la Flaca", on American network "Univision", revealed that Shakira had shown an interest in Ibaka. The programme claimed the pair wanted to keep their meetings away from the limelight, getting to know each other gradually before word of a possible relationship spread.
They met in Madrid. Both were also in the French capital at the same time during Paris Fashion Week, which only fuelled the speculation.
Journalist Aurelio Manzano went to sources close to the Colombian artist, who confirmed the meetings had taken place but stressed that both parties consider themselves to be only friends.
All of this follows Shakira's separation from former Barcelona star Gerard Pique in June 2022. That relationship drew huge media attention, and the split has since become a recurring theme in press coverage of both their private lives.
Her career, meanwhile, rolls on. Shakira has just wrapped a run of 16 days of shows in Madrid as part of the tour promoting her new album. Ibaka, who played basketball for Real Madrid, remains without a club after his contract with the Spanish side expired at the end of the 2024-2025 season.
Neither Shakira nor Ibaka has officially announced a romance despite the mounting rumours. Until one of them speaks up, it stays guesswork.