By Tim Stannard/beIN SPORTS USA

Juventus reportedly planning all-star lineup with Neymar partnering Cristiano Ronaldo 

One of the more entertaining stories out of the global lockdown was the showbiz press oozing over Neymar's mother, Nadine Santos, in a relationship with a man who, at 23, was five years younger than Neymar. All power to Nadine, says Sports Burst. 

Sadly, that love appears to have faded, but the theme of the story is back in the news on Thursday...but with a twist. 

Rather than Neymar's mother being linked with a young man, Neymar is being linked with an Old Lady - Juventus. 

A whole new dimension has been bolted onto the 'Whither Neymar?' narrative. 

Staying at PSG? 

Returning to Barcelona? 

Or maybe heading to Serie A to help the Old Lady of Juve in her pursuit of the Champions League title, by partnering the Brazilian with Cristiano Ronaldo, who might have a thing or two to say about another high-profile player robbing him of some of the spotlight. 

This story is being put out there by Italian media outlet '7 Gold' - Sports Burst has never heard of it either, but that should never be an issue - and the sweetener for PSG in the deal would be Paulo Dybala moving to PSG in return in the mother of all swap deals. 

As it turns out, it might be Neymar's best option should the footballer still want to get out of Paris. 

LaLiga president, Javier Tebas, has warned both Real Madrid and Barcelona to be very, very, very careful indeed when it comes to the transfer market in these financially troubled times. 

"Transfers that exceed financial limits will not be allowed – impossible," says Tebas who suggests that swap deals will be de rigueur in the years to come. 

The Sports Burst live team will be all over this story - whether they like it or not - at 12PM ET / 9AM PT. Head to the beIN SPORTS USA Facebook page and beIN XTRA channel to join in the speculation. 

And don't forget that Sports Burst returns every evening at 7PM ET / 4PM PT with the PM show. Tonight, the special guest is Orlando City head coach, Oscar Pareja. 

EPL Project Restart set to suffer delay

On to more serious stories now and the Project Restart of the Premier League might suffer a delay of a week. The EPL had been targeting to the show back on the road on June 12. However, a meeting between league officials and the 20 club captains that The Guardian suggests was 'robust' and 'diverging' might push that date to June 19. 

The issue at stake was the health and safety protocols for players during the training sessions which have yet to formally start in England. These guidelines were shared by the EPL but they still need to be agreed upon by the UK government and also the clubs themselves at a meeting on Monday. 

Once this happens then the kind of testing routine seen last week in LaLiga can begin. Once that hurdle is passed then training can begin, but with a month possibly required to get fitness levels back, the start date could be pushed back. 

Where to play the games has still to be resolved with the neutral grounds option preferred by the police at odds with the wishes of clubs. 

Although UEFA had asked for individual countries to finalize their plans by May 25, the deadline has loosened a little with the organization of Europe's soccer governing bodies only requiring "some indications as to the potential way forward".

Balotelli reveals diet of cardboard 

Even with so much going on of late, Mario Balotelli has still continued to feature in the headlines. Why always him?

Days after seeing his name dragged through the mud by an ex-teammate, the Brescia forward has resurfaced to give his personal account of quarantine life which was spent completely alone. And did not go so well at first apparently. 

“I was basically eating cardboard and trying to bite chunks out of the wall for the first three days, as I can’t cook anything," revealed Super Mario. "Fortunately, I then managed to get food delivered.”

Balotelli is just one many players who could be in action from June 13 with a start date now set in Italy. However, there is one clause in the safety protocols that could make completing the season a challenge. 

While in the Bundesliga and LaLiga, if a player tests positive for COVID-19, just the individual is isolated for 14 days. In Italy, it will be the entire squad. It sees Lazio's chief medic, Ivo Pulcini, branding the requirement as "truly ridiculous."

Ferrari recruits Carlos Sainz 

Although the Formula 1 2020 season has been left in the pits due to the coronavirus outbreak, the 2021 season is already shaping up. 

Ferrari have moved quickly by announcing their replacement for Sebastian Vettel, who will be leaving the team at the end of the season. The driver chosen is Carlos Sainz who is currently at McLaren, who in turn will be recruiting Daniel Ricciardo to fill the gap.