The rise of defending world, European and Premier League champions Manchester City has been as rapid as it has been controversial. From allegations of sportswashing against its Emirati ownership, to the no less than 115 charges it is facing for alleged violations of football’s financial rules, headlines about the club’s off-field conduct are eclipsed perhaps only by their sustained on-field dominance.

On today’s episode, Katya is joined by football writers Simon Stone and Rory Smith to explain how City Football Group have supercharged their development by revolutionising a specific business model surrounding the acquisition of sister clubs across the world. They discuss whether this has set an irreversible trend of multi-club ownership, amidst fears that competition within the beautiful game could be under threat.

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This episode was made by Jay Gardner, Laurie Kalus and Emilia Jansson. The technical producers were Mike Regaard and Hannah Montgomery. The assistant editor is Sergi Forcada Freixas and the senior news editor is Jonathan Aspinwall.