Unmasking Rui Pinto: The Football Leaks Whistleblower Behind Manchester City's Financial Scandal

Portuguese national Rui Pinto, whose early work as a hacker focused on matters closer to home with leaks concerning Portuguese football clubs Benfica and FC Porto, is losing his witness protection status. Pinto, 37, is the founder of the website Football Leaks and the whistleblower who triggered the investigation into Manchester City Football Club, which was found guilty of all but one of 115 charges for breaching Premier League financial misconduct rules.

Pinto obtained private documents showing that City broke league rules from 2009 to 2018. According to the league, this involved using sham commercial contracts to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs by more than 900 million pounds ($1.2bn) through secret funding from Abu Dhabi-based owners. While Manchester City denies wrongdoing and faces potential sanctions ranging from fines to expulsion, Pinto's journey from a self-taught computer enthusiast to a global whistleblower has been tumultuous.

Pinto founded Football Leaks in 2015 under the pseudonym John. He was unmasked and arrested in Budapest in January 2019, later receiving a four-year suspended sentence in Portugal in September 2023 for cybercrimes and attempted extortion, though he was acquitted of 241 separate counts in April 2026. His previous leaks also exposed the salaries of Lionel Messi and Neymar, brought attention to a Cristiano Ronaldo rape allegation lawsuit, and resulted in a six-month suspended sentence in France for hacking Paris Saint-Germain executives' emails.

Between 2016 and 2018, Pinto leaked over 70 million confidential documents to the European Investigative Collaborations consortium, forming the basis of the Premier League and UEFA investigations into Manchester City. Having served as a protected witness since August 2020 after cooperating with Portuguese authorities, reports indicate his protection is being revoked as police deem his safety a low risk. Following the verdict against Manchester City, Pinto has continued to voice his criticisms on social media regarding the club and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.