The feet of Milan Piqui Mebarak, the newborn baby of Colombian singer Shakira and Gerard Pique, are seen in a picture posted by FC Barcelona’s defender on his Twitter account January 24, 2013. Singer Shakira gave birth to her first child, a boy, on Tuesday in Barcelona, the Colombian pop star said on her website. The Hips Don’t Lie singer and her boyfriend, the Spanish soccer player Pique, named the boy Milan.
Within hours of Shakira’s baby boy being born, people had already asking about his future career.
Will Milan Pique Mebarak be a famous pop singer like his Colombian mother, or an international soccer star like his Spanish father, Barcelona defender?
“Welcome Milan Piqui Mebarak and congratulations to Shakira and Gerard Pique. What would you prefer as a present for the baby, a microphone or some (soccer) boots?” Manchester City striker Sergio “Kun” Aguero wrote Wednesday on Twitter.
Congratulatory messages rained down on the couple from both sides of the Atlantic.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was among the first to wish them the best, while the Pies Descalzos (Shoeless) Foundation for poor children set up by Shakira in 1997 sent a twitter message saying, “The children and Pies Descalzos team are happy for Milan’s birth. We love you Shakira!”
One of the big surprises was child’s first name. In a statement, Shakira said Milan was of central European origin and meant “loved, full of grace, loving,” in Slavic and “unification” in Sanksrit.
Milan, coincidentally, is also the name of the famous soccer team from that Italian city and Barcelona’s next rival in the European Champions League.
Amador Bernabeu, Milan’s grandfather, admitted the family was surprised by the choice and confessed he had never heard of the name. “I think Milan will become fashionable,” he told the radio.
A former director of the Barcelona club, he made sure Milan was registered as a club member as soon as he was born.
Shakira and the 25-year-old Pique have been a couple for the past two years and are regularly featured in gossip magazines and TV programmes in both Europe and Latin America.
