Celebrity News

Dinner fuels Shakira-Rafael Nadal love-match buzz

Shakira shared a cozy meal with tennis star Rafael Nadal in Spain, sparking more rumors of a love match between the pair. They were spotted dining at the W Hotel in Barcelona after shooting a video together there late last week.

Shakira earlier this month celebrated her 33rd birthday with longtime fiancé Antonio De La Rua, while Nadal has been dating high school sweetheart Maria Francisca Perello, aka Xisca, for nearly four years.

An eyewitness told us of the Barcelona encounter, “There was just the two of them at the table together. They were whispering and all smiles. It definitely looked like they are more than just friends. They were there for a few days shooting.”

But Nadal’s rep, Benito Pérez-Barbadillo, said that he, Nadal’s manager Carlos Costa and video director Jaume de Laiguana were also at the dinner. He told us, “We were all there, and Shakira only came when we’d finished the main course to have something to drink, accompanied by her manager, Ceci Kurzman, and Jaume. It was a dinner organized with the director to brief Rafa on what was expected from him in the video.” Shakira’s rep declined to comment.

It was the latest in a series of meetings between the singer and the tennis star which has sparked intense online speculation.

Shakira watched Nadal beat Nikolay Davydenko in Abu Dhabi in December 2008 after doing a concert there. They also cozied up last March when she watched him qualify for the fourth round of the Miami Master Series. After the match, Shakira reportedly asked Nadal if he wanted her to “teach him how to sing” in exchange for him teaching her “how to play.” She also said in a filmed interview, “We all know he’s an animal on the court, and we’re all really proud of him.”

Last September, we revealed the pair were flirting at Nobu Tribeca as Shakira promoted her new album, “She-Wolf.”