Burnley's partnership with Espanyol the latest link-up in multi-club trend - featuring Chelsea, Man City and many others

It was recently announced that Clarets chairman Alan Pace – through investment arm Velocity Sport Limited – has agreed a takeover of Spanish side Espanyol.

An official statement posted to Espanyol’s website states both clubs will remain independent and the two clubs will “participate in a strategic alliance”, while staying on the same level.

Could this be just the start for Burnley? It’s been mooted that Pace may also look to reignite his interest in Belgian club KV Kortrijk, while a strengthening of relations with partner club Dundee has also not been ruled out.

Burnley and Espanyol join a long list of sides around the world that have joined the increasingly popular multi-club model.

As it stands, Manchester City are the only other Premier League side to be partnered with a club in La Liga with Girona. The Abu Dhabi-based City Group also features New York City, Melbourne City, Yokohama F. Marinos and Troyes.

Savinho, currently a City player, played for Troyes and Girona before being transferred to the Etihad last season.

Aston Villa (Real Union) and Brentford (Merida AD) are both connected to Spanish sides too, albeit neither currently play in the top tier.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Chelsea owner Todd Boehly also owns French side Strasbourg, who were keen to sign Burnley’s CJ Egan-Riley this summer before he eventually joined Marseille.

The Stamford Bridge outfit has loaned out several of its players to the Ligue 1 club in recent seasons.

Greek owner Evangelos Marinakis owns both Nottingham Forest and Olympiakos, while Brighton chief Tony Bloom also holds a stake in Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise. The Pozzo family famously owns both Watford and Udinese, although they are reportedly due to sell the Italian outfit.

The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) owns Newcastle United in the Premier League as well as the big four Saudi clubs: Al-Hilal, Al-Ahly, Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr.

The multi-club model is not without its problems, however, as Crystal Palace are currently experiencing. They’ve been demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League as a result of John Textor’s connections with Lyon, who are also in the same competition.

Away from England, perhaps one of the most well-known multi-club models is operated by the Red Bull group, who run clubs in Leipzig, Salzburg and New York.

Your next Burnley FC read: 'Convinced': CJ Egan-Riley explains why he left Burnley on a free transfer to join Marseille