Shakira once again stirred up social media even before the official release of her music video, after the teaser for "Dai Dai"—her song for the 2026 World Cup—triggered a wave of theories about a supposed new subtle message to her ex-partner Gerard Piqué...
The Colombian artist posted a teaser on her official Instagram with the message "Coming soon..." which garnered nearly 12 million views and over three million likes within a few hours.
The clip showcases a compilation of historic moments from world football: Pelé, Maradona, Maldini, Romario, Cristiano Ronaldo, Iniesta, Messi, Mbappé, and Salah appear in iconic images. The name Piqué is not mentioned at any point, neither in the video nor in the lyrics.
There it is, precisely, the detail that ignited the internet.
Among the included images is the celebration of Cristiano Ronaldo after his free kick in the 88th minute of the Portugal vs. Spain match in the 2018 World Cup, with which the Portuguese player completed his hat trick and left the score at 3-3. What many fans immediately recalled: that free kick resulted from a foul committed by Piqué inside the box, which thwarted Spain's victory.
Shakira chose, out of all the goals in football history, precisely that one.
The viral theory exploded on TikTok, where user @brigethopiniones2 posted an analysis video that surpassed one million views and over 102,000 likes in less than two days.
"I wouldn't want to be an enemy of Shakira," the young woman begins in her video. "In the 2018 World Cup, there was a match between Spain and Portugal, Piqué committed a foul on Cristiano Ronaldo in the last minute inside the box, and because of that, they awarded a free kick to Cristiano Ronaldo and he scored a goal."
The creator concludes: "My girl Shakira has come, very much an Aquarius, and she has featured Cristiano Ronaldo's celebration of that goal in the official video for Dai Dai."
"Shakira takes every opportunity to subtly throw shade at Piqué, and she doesn't even need to name him," the TikToker added.
Reactions on social media divided users. Many praised the level of detail: "She is so elegantly funny and vengeful," wrote one user. "She's not resentful, she's just observant," noted another. "She does it for sport," summarized a third. "She didn't even mention it and still got hit," pointed out another comment cited by Colombian media.
Critical voices were not lacking: "Let her get over it already... Maybe another love will distract her," wrote a user.
Neither Shakira nor her team have officially confirmed that the inclusion of Ronaldo's goal is an intentional reference to Piqué.
"Dai Dai," recorded with Nigerian artist Burna Boy and filmed at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, was announced on May 7 and released on May 14 as the official anthem of the tournament that kicks off on June 11 in Mexico, the United States, and Canada.
Since "Te Felicito" in 2022 to the explosive "BZRP Music Sessions #53" with Bizarrap in 2023 — featuring phrases like "you traded a Ferrari for a Twingo" — Shakira has turned every release into a collective analysis event on social media, where millions of users compete to decipher hidden references. "Dai Dai" confirms that this phenomenon has no expiration date.
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