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Arsenal vice-captain Thomas Vermaelen's agent has remained coy over the defender's meeting with Barcelona captain Carlos Puyol and has refrained from dismissing speculation linking the Belgian with a move to the Spanish club.

Vermaelan has been linkedwith a potential move to the Catalan giants and though the 26 year old recently statedhe would stay at Arsenal forever, talks of a possible move gained pace after he was picturedwith Puyol at a restaurant in Ibiza.

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The meeting between the two players has left the Gunners faithful worried and Vermalen's agent, Kees Vos, has not done much to reassure them that the centre-back will remain at the Emirates.

"It is two world-class defenders in the same restaurant," ESPN quotedVos as saying.

Meanwhile, Barcelona midfielder Ibrahim Afellay claims he will fight for a starting place at the Camp Nou, playing down speculation over his future. The Dutchman has been touted as a possible transfer target for several clubs, including Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle United but the player insists he is staying with the Catalans.

"I can't wait for the new season to begin, so I can get back on the pitch, and prove my worth for Barcelona," Metro quotesthe 26 year old as saying.

The former PSV Eindhoven star only made five appearances for the Spanish club last season as he struggled with injury problems.

Finally, Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta has stated he finds similarities between their Euro 2012 quarter final opponents France and his club Barcelona.

"France have a very strong team. With Laurent Blanc, they try to play a bit like us [Spain]. In some phases of play, they even remind me of Barca, especially in the way they carry the game to their opponents. It is clear they will try to fight for control of the ball because they have strong and technically gifted players. It will take a very strong Spain to prevail over them," Goal.com quotedIniesta as saying.

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Arsenal Star's Agent Coy over Barcelona Talks

PUBLISHED: 18:22 EST, 18 June 2012 | UPDATED: 03:10 EST, 19 June 2012

Waiter Albert Sola claims King Juan Carlos of Spain is his father, and met his mother during a trip to Barcelona in the 1950s

A Spanish waiter and a Belgian housewife have joined forces in an attempt to prove they are the illegitimate children of the King of Spain.

Albert Sola, 55, has already had DNA tests done which show there is a 91 per probability he is the half-brother of a woman whose mother pointed at Juan Carlos on the television and told her: 'Hes your dad.'

Belgian Ingrid Sartiau met Albert for the first time 10 days ago in a hotel in north east Spain after contacting him over the Internet.

The pair are now said to be considering legal action to force Juan Carlos to accept they were born to mistresses and recognise them as his children.

Dad-of-two Albert, who used to run a successful metal firm in Mexico, has already sent several faxes addressed Dear Father to the 17th century La Zarzuela palace near Madrid where the King lives with his long-suffering wife Sofia and their family.

He said: 'Im convinced Im King Juan Carlos son. Ingrid and I are going to send a fax to La Zarzuela to inform them of the results of the DNA tests and see where we go from there.'

Albert, who lives and works in a small village outside Girona, was adopted as a child and grew up in Ibiza before moving to Barcelona.

He claims the Spanish King, said to have bedded more than 1,500 women in a Don Juan-style romantic career, met his birth mum during a trip to the Catalan capital in the fifties from a military academy in Zaragoza where he was studying.

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Juan Carlos: Spanish waiter and Belgian housewife claim King of Spain is their father

By Rick Kelsey Newsbeat reporter in Ibiza

The British government's representative in Ibiza says the downturn in the Spanish economy is creating problems for young UK tourists visiting the island.

Paul Abrey, who is the British Consul for the Balearic Islands, says that although visitor numbers haven't dropped there's more crime and hospitals can ask for cash upfront for medical treatment.

It comes after Spanish banks were given 80 billion in emergency loans by the eurozone.

This has put more pressure on the Spanish government who have had to borrow heavily and make cuts to deal with the effects of the collapse.

Almost three quarters of a million visitors come over to the White Isle, as Ibiza is known, every year.

It's quieter but then this is an expensive place to come. The clubs charge around 50 euros to get in and drinks aren't cheap

Many of them are young and want to experience the nightlife in places like San Antonio and Playa d'en Bossa.

Paul Abrey said: "There are reduced services, fewer police around and a bit more crime in the resorts which are all consequences of a country that is struggling."

Walking around the West End area of San Antonio, many of the bar workers say there are fewer people around for the time of year.

Excerpt from:
British tourists 'sleeping rough'

PUBLISHED: 18:22 EST, 18 June 2012 | UPDATED: 18:22 EST, 18 June 2012

Waiter Albert Sola claims King Juan Carlos of Spain is his father, and met his mother during a trip to Barcelona in the 1950s

A Spanish waiter and a Belgian housewife have joined forces in an attempt to prove they are the illegitimate children of the King of Spain.

Albert Sola, 55, has already had DNA tests done which show there is a 91 per probability he is the half-brother of a woman whose mother pointed at Juan Carlos on the television and told her: 'Hes your dad.'

Belgian Ingrid Sartiau met Albert for the first time 10 days ago in a hotel in north east Spain after contacting him over the Internet.

The pair are now said to be considering legal action to force Juan Carlos to accept they were born to mistresses and recognise them as his children.

Dad-of-two Albert, who used to run a successful metal firm in Mexico, has already sent several faxes addressed Dear Father to the 17th century La Zarzuela palace near Madrid where the King lives with his long-suffering wife Sofia and their family.

He said: 'Im convinced Im King Juan Carlos son. Ingrid and I are going to send a fax to La Zarzuela to inform them of the results of the DNA tests and see where we go from there.'

Albert, who lives and works in a small village outside Girona, was adopted as a child and grew up in Ibiza before moving to Barcelona.

He claims the Spanish King, said to have bedded more than 1,500 women in a Don Juan-style romantic career, met his birth mum during a trip to the Catalan capital in the fifties from a military academy in Zaragoza where he was studying.

Original post:
You are our Dad: Spanish waiter and Belgian housewife attempt to prove King of Spain is their father

Bliss ... Es Boldado from Cala d'Hort. Photo: Alamy

Simon Hughes discovers the best stretch of sand in the world - and it's in Ibiza, the party capital of the world.

It is easy to develop misconceptions about Ibiza. Dubbed the undisputed party capital of the world, the island is often used as a byword for excess. The British television documentary Ibiza Uncovered - featuring a series of inebriated, semi-naked 20-year-olds cavorting about in beach bars - has a lot to answer for. It was a little disconcerting to witness similar scenes on our easyJet flight to the island, even though it was a 6am midweek departure from Gatwick.

So, it was with some trepidation that I first set foot on Ibizan soil two hours later. Despite the promises in the hotel brochure of a more refined experience, I was still expecting to have my senses assaulted by thumping music and hordes of overexcited partygoers, to be confronted by the stench of fried food and to be unable to see the sea because of all the great lumps of concrete masquerading as hotels hugging the coastline. And, in order to escape all this, I was also bracing myself for an interminable journey on meandering roads stuck behind a succession of hired Seats, each occupied by bewildered drivers all trying to find the same strip of already overcrowded beach using badly drawn, misleading local maps.

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Cala Comte beach, Ibiza. Photo: Alamy

I was right about one thing. The maps are badly drawn and misleading. Perhaps this is a prerogative of a holiday island to ensure visitors have trouble finding the good places, allowing the locals to get there first and bag the best spots. But in every other way my preconceptions were way off beam.

With a job (covering cricket) that follows the sun, I have spent the past 20 years inadvertently searching for the best beach in the world. Somewhere that had everything. A pretty cove that had reliable weather and iridescent, safe, crystal-clear sea and powdery sand; which had some shade but was not overlooked by apartment blocks or overrun by hawkers, jet-skis, or people in general; where you could sidle barefoot into a simple, airy cafe selling interesting food and local wine and later stroll along the beach to the headland to watch the sun go down.

I have tried all the obvious places: France (too crowded), Italy (too expensive), South Africa (too many sharks), Australia (too many Australians. NOTE FROM ED: don't you mean British backpackers?), Greece, the Caribbean, Portugal (all boring food), mainland Spain (too man-made), New Zealand (iffy weather), Thailand (too touristy), Sri Lanka (too hot), Cornwall (too cold.) I could go on. And then ... a blissfully easy drive from Ibiza Airport, I found it. Within five minutes of leaving the airport you are driving alongside low, bush-clad hills and glinting salt lakes with few other cars, and within 10 minutes you are parking under conveniently located wooden awnings and emerging through tall trees onto a beautiful curving swathe of sand lapped by calm blue water. This is Playa des Salinas.

A bar at Salinas beach, Ibiza. Photo: Alamy

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Life's a perfect beach