Do you know Shakira is 34-year-old and Gerard Pique is 24. That's 10 years difference! Didn't stop Shakira and Piqué from sharing a passionate kiss on magazine cover

They've been romantically linked since last year but are rarely seen out together.

But now Shakira and Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué have made their relationship official - as a photograph of the couple sharing a passionate kiss has been used on the cover of Colombian magazine Caras.

The 34-year-old singer is seen closing her eyes and leaning in for a romantic embrace with her 24-year-old sportsman beau.

Shakira announced at the start of the year that her 11-year relationship with lawyer Antonio de la Rua, 37, the eldest son of the former Argentinian premier, amid rumours that he had been cheating on her.

And last month, Piqué, who plays for FC Barcelona, uploaded a photograph from his birthday on February 2 of himself and the Colombian singer celebrating with friends.

The singer first met Piqué last spring while shooting the video to her song Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) - the official track of the 2010 World Cup.

Barcelona-based newspaper El Periodico de Catalunya claimed they had a string of secret encounters following their initial meeting.

It said they both spent a night in the seven-room Hotel Atzaro in Ibiza last July. The footballer is said to have arrived and left wearing the same clothes.