Julio Iglesias has been ruled to be the biological father of a 43-year-old man by a Spanish court

Although Julio had refused to provide a DNA sample the judge - who also refused to admit DNA evidence obtained surreptitiously by a private detective working for the claimant and his lawyer - made his decision based on the "obvious physical resemblance" between the musician and Javier and credible evidence provided by Maria of her week-long affair with the singer at the time her son was conceived.

Delivering the verdict at a court in Valencia, Judge José Miguel Bort said: "The possibility that sexual relations took place between them is not unlikely nor preposterous."

Julio's defence team had argued that the trial should not take place since the case had already gone to court before and had been dismissed.

The DNA evidence collected by the private detective came from a water bottle that had been used by the 'To All The Girls I've Loved Before' singer's son Julio Iglesias Junior while he was surfing in Miami. The subsequent test and comparison with Javier's DNA showed that the pair were brothers.

When Javier had originally filed the paternity suit in 2017 he told assembled media outside the Valencia courthouse that the DNA evidence "indicates with an accuracy of 99.9 percent that I am his son and that my mother has always told the truth".

Julio now has 20 working days to appeal the ruling.

The singer has eight other children, including pop star Enrique Iglesias.