Rui Pinto, the whistleblower behind Football Leaks who exposed corruption in football, including evidence that led to Manchester City's financial misconduct charges this week, will no longer receive witness protection. Pinto, born and raised near Porto, began leaking private documents in 2015 under a pseudonym to reveal corruption within football clubs. He was arrested in Budapest in 2019 on European court orders but later received a suspended sentence after his extradition to Portugal. His leaks have led to several criminal investigations across multiple countries and provided crucial evidence against Manchester City, revealing nearly £900 million ($1.2 billion) in manipulated revenues from 2009 to 2018.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-01,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
The whistleblower who triggered an investigation into Manchester City Football Club, which was found guilty of all but one of 115 charges in breach of Premier League financial misconduct rules this week, will no longer be granted witness protection, it was revealed on Wednesday.
asserted
it → trigger → Wednesday
Rui Pinto, 37, founder of the website Football Leaks, obtained private documents that showed City broke league rules from 2009 to 2018.
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City → obtain → 2018
The league said this included using “sham” commercial contracts “to artificially inflate the club’s revenues, and reduce its costs, by more than 900 million pounds ($1.2bn)” with secret funding from its Abu Dhabi-based owners.
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this → say → owners
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3Queiroz → leave → 3AFCON
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Africa → race → ?
The league also said the investigation found City used schemes that enabled it to appear to be complying with financial rules.
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that → say → rules
City, which could face sanctions ranging from a fine to expulsion from the league, denies wrongdoing and is expected to appeal by Friday.
uncertain
which → face → Friday
Pinto has been a protected witness since 2020.
asserted
Pinto → protect → 2020
So who is he and what happens to him now?
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what → happen → him
Pinto is a Portuguese computer hacker and activist whose work as a public interest whistleblower has exposed corruption that served as grounds for criminal investigations in several countries.
asserted
that → expose → countries
He was born and raised in Vila Nova de Gaia, near Porto.
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He → bear → Porto
His early work focused on Portuguese football clubs Benfica and FC Porto.
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work → focus → clubs
Pinto was mostly self-taught in computing, having never received advanced education in the field.
asserted
Pinto → teach → field
His school geography teacher, however, recalled him being “very good in computers” and was surprised when he was named as the founder of Football Leaks in 2019.
asserted
he → recall → 2019
Pinto founded the website in 2015 under the pseudonym “John” to reveal “the principal protagonists in the dishonest football industry”.
asserted
Pinto → found → industry
He was unmasked in January 2019 when he was arrested in Budapest on a European court order for alleged attempted extortion and cybercrimes.
asserted
he → unmask → extortion
Following his arrest, he was extradited to Portugal in March 2019 and remained in pre-trial detention until April 2020.
asserted
he → follow → April
He was given a four-year suspended sentence in September 2023 for illegally obtaining documents, committing other cybercrimes and attempted extortion.
asserted
He → give → cybercrimes
He was later acquitted on 241 separate counts in a second trial in April 2026 after the court ruled the charges were “invalid”.
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charges → acquit → April
The leaks revealed the salaries of Lionel Messi and Neymar.
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leaks → reveal → Messi
They also brought global attention to a rape allegation lawsuit involving Cristiano Ronaldo, which was later dismissed by a United States judge.
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which → bring → judge
A French trial in 2023 resulted in a six-month suspended sentence for hacking emails of Paris Saint-Germain executives.
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trial → result → executives
From 2016 to 2018, Pinto leaked more than 70 million confidential documents to a number of newspapers belonging to the European Investigative Collaborations consortium.
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Pinto → leak → consortium
They included confidential documents related to some of the biggest clubs, players and organisations in the world.
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They → include → world
Those leaks ultimately became the basis of the Premier League’s charges against City, while Europe’s football governing body, UEFA, also launched a separate investigation.
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body → become → investigation
Why was Pinto in witness protection, and why has it been revoked?
Pinto has been a protected witness since August 2020 after agreeing to grant Portuguese authorities access to millions of files gathered before his arrest.
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been → revoke → arrest
His first trial in Portugal began a month later.
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trial → begin → Portugal
After his extradition to Portugal, he “has at various points been in solitary confinement, under house arrest and in witness protection”, according to a report by the BBC.
uncertain
he → accord → BBC
The UK’s Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday that Pinto would no longer be a protected witness by Portuguese authorities as police deemed his safety to be a low risk, despite him being assaulted in April.
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him → report → April
Pinto has, however, been advised to “exercise caution with family contacts” and to avoid social media.
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Pinto → advise → media
What has Pinto said since the City verdict?
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Pinto → say → verdict
Pinto has been vociferous about Manchester City on social media since the club’s financial misconduct scandal came to light last week, calling the conviction a “historic decision for English football”.
“From the very beginning, they have demonstrated a complete lack of respect for the rules, for the bodies responsible for overseeing and regulating the game, for the integrity of the competition, for the other clubs and, above all, for the fans,” he wrote on X following the verdict on Friday.
“Years and years of cheating, lying and manipulation will finally have consequences.”
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Years → come → consequences
Just hours before his witness protection was revoked on Wednesday, Pinto said FIFA President Gianni Infantino had become “a cancer on football and should have no place in the future of the game”.
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Infantino → revoke → game
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