Gerard Pique says he’s ‘happy’ and doesn’t care about ‘cleaning up’ his image

Gerard Piqué has no regrets. The soccer star and businessman has made it clear that his priority is the health of his children and his happiness, and has spoken about this new stage in his career and life in an interview with El Pais. He also addressed his relationship with Shakira, and the media maelstrom that his life has been subjected to in the wake of his split.

In an exclusive interview with the Spanish newspaper, Piqué welcomed journalists into his office at Kosmos. While the interview was centered on sports and his career, Piqué couldn’t avoid some questions about Shakira.

“How have you been affected by your split with Shakira?” asked the journalist, Jordi Quixano, in Spanish. Piqué shut down the question fast, only opening up to discuss the health of his kids. “I won’t say, I don’t want to. Everyone has their responsibility to do what’s best for their kids,” he said. Quixano kept pushing, saying that his children will hear about the split, whether he speaks about it or not.

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

Piqué also made it clear that he’s not worried about the media and the image that they’ve painted of him since his split. “The problem is how people perceive things or how the press packages it. I’m still doing what I want,” he said. “I want to be faithful to myself. I’m not gonna waste money on cleaning up my image. The people that I love and worry about are the people that know me. The rest, I don’t care. I’m putting my energy on the people that are closest to me, and giving them what I have. I’m very happy. There’s been changes in my life and I’ve known how to preserve that happiness.”

One of the changes that he’s experienced is his decision to retire from soccer and walk away from Barcelona F.C., the team where he played most of his professional career. “I have to be honest. I didn’t have that drive. I needed new challenges and I saw that my team wasn’t as important as it used to be. I wasn’t having a good time,” he said.