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Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has posted an Instagram story of him attending pop star wife Shakira's recent rehearsal for her European tour.

Pique was suspended for Monday's 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying win over Israel and showed how he was spending his free time on the social media service, as reported by MailOnline's Ben Grounds.

The 30-year-old put his fingers in a shushing gesture while rehearsals were ongoing.

MailOnline passed on a report from Spanish website Cotilleo on Friday that Pique and Shakira are no longer living together and that it was the latter who pushed for the separation.

However, Pique posted an emoji-filled tweet expressing love for his wife on the same day the speculation arose: 

Grounds referred to reports in the Colombian press that have pushed rumours of a split in recent weeks, as well as noting Pique and Shakira's last public sighting together was all the way back in June at the wedding of his Barca team-mate Lionel Messi.

Pique has faced controversy for voicing his opinions regarding Catalonia's right to a referendum for independence. He even offered to stop playing for Spain's national team if his views were too divisive, via the Telegraph: