Unknown strife in singer Shakira’s personal life has come into the public eye thanks to a lawsuit filed yesterday (April 12) by her ex manager Antonio de la Rua.

Discontented de la Rua is claiming to have been a driving factor behind the Columbian singer's commercial success since becoming romantically involved with her in 2000 and aiding her career on an “informal basis”. After the pair began living together he became Shakira’s official representative until a break up in 2011.

As a result, the Argentinean de la Rua is taking the credit for expanding Shakira's reach beyond the Latin American market, calling himself the "principal architect of her management team and business plan that set Shakira on the path to lasting financial success."

Recently the commercial success of the Shakira brand has gained the ‘Whenever, Wherever’ singer a $9 million sponsorship deal with Telefonica, a perfume deal with Puig worth $2 million every year for a decade and a new 10-year recording deal with Live Nation which is reportedly worth $300 million.

Shakira is currently a judge on judge on NBC's 'The Voice' and is dating Spanish soccer player, Gerard Piqué, with whom she has a son.

However, de la Rua’s newly filed claim would see him entitled to $100 million of the singer’s worth should it prove to be successful. The document states that Shakira’s accumulated wealth is:

"The result of a hard-fought battle to conquer the music world that Mebarak (Shakira) and de la Rua fought together as business partners."