Who is Man City whistleblower Rui Pinto and what has become of him?

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that Portuguese hacker and whistleblower Rui Pinto, the founder of Football Leaks, has been central to the evidence behind the Premier League’s long-running case against Manchester City. The article says documents obtained by Pinto helped trigger an investigation into City’s finances and alleged rule breaches from 2009 to 2018, including the use of commercial deals the league described as inflated or concealed funding. City denies wrongdoing and is expected to appeal, while the club faces possible sanctions.

According to the report, Pinto, 37, is from Vila Nova de Gaia near Porto and first drew attention through leaks involving Portuguese clubs Benfica and FC Porto. He launched Football Leaks in 2015 under a pseudonym and was later identified after his arrest in Budapest in 2019. He was extradited to Portugal, held in pre-trial detention, and later received a suspended sentence in one case, while being cleared on many other counts in a separate trial in 2026.

Al Jazeera says Pinto had been under witness protection in Portugal since 2020 after cooperating with authorities and sharing large volumes of files. That protection was revoked this week after police judged his risk to be low, although he has been advised to remain cautious. The article adds that his leaks also affected wider European football, helping expose matters involving players, clubs and governing bodies, which is why his case remains significant beyond Manchester City.