Second Captains Football 22/08 - Neymar V Bale, Balotelli SI, Serie A and Juve crossroads

Summary: Neymar's transfer to Barcelona was looking a bit risky, until Real Madrid's €110m pursuit of Gareth Bale. Are Real about to sign half the player for twice the price? Grant Wahl's Sports Illustrated cover story with Mario Balotelli makes Balotelli only the second foreign footballer, after David Beckham, to feature on the cover of America's sports weekly since 1994. Even Lionel Messi never made the SI cover, and Grant tells us why. James Horncastle previews the Serie A season, which kicks off this weekend with Juventus odds-on favourites to win their third title in a row. And Dermot Corrigan joins us from Madrid to talk about Messi's awkward relationship with David Villa and why Real Madrid want Gareth Bale so much. All on today's Second Captains Football. Download it here, follow the lads on twitter @SecondCaptains, facebook.com/secondcaptains and email the show at SecondCaptains@irishtimes.com