Rui Pinto, the Man City whistleblower, loses witness protection after leaks case

Rui Pinto, the Portuguese hacker who first exposed Manchester City's financial breaches and triggered the biggest investigation in Premier League history, has learned that his witness protection is coming to an end. The news arrives barely a day after the English club was found guilty of nearly all of the 115 charges it faced, a scenario that could end in relegation or expulsion from the division it currently leads.

• Rui Pinto lost his witness protection less than 24 hours after the Manchester City verdict.
• He must leave his confidential residence on Saturday 10 October and find new housing.
• His legal team calls the move an act of state terrorism and warns of a real threat to his life.
• Pinto says he has received multiple death threats and fears an assassination attempt.
• He has set up a GoFundMe campaign seeking €3 million to relocate.

Who is Rui Pinto and why does he matter in the Man City case

Pinto became known as the person behind Football Leaks, the website that in 2018 published confidential documents showing City broke league rules over a nine-season period. Those leaks prompted a full Premier League investigation and also formed the basis for the subsequent investigative report by German newspaper Der Spiegel about the English club.

By the time the City allegations took the football world by storm, the Portuguese hacker was already dealing with other legal trouble. After being unmasked as the man behind Football Leaks, he faced 147 charges in Portugal including computer fraud, attempted extortion and violation of correspondence privacy. He had published stories about other players and clubs, including several related to Porto and Benfica.

From custody to witness protection: the long Lisbon criminal case

Pinto was extradited from Hungary, where he had been living, in March 2019. He spent more than a year in custody before being placed under house arrest ahead of his criminal trial in Lisbon. In September 2023 he received a four-year suspended jail sentence. Since then he had been living at an undisclosed location under police witness protection.

Pinto has always described himself as a whistleblower and has denied any wrongdoing. His stated aim was to expose what was wrong with football. The ruling against Manchester City feels like a victory eight years in the making for the 37-year-old.

The statement released today by the Premier League ultimately confirms, unequivocally, the truth of everything that was revealed through Football Leaks.

Losing protection and fearing for his life

The satisfaction of the verdict did not last long. Less than a day after the independent commission made City's guilt official, Pinto found out that his witness protection would end on Saturday 10 October. He will be forced to leave his confidential residence and find a new home, a decision his team does not hesitate to describe as a full-blown attack.

His situation is now critical. The threats against him are not merely theoretical; he was assaulted in Lisbon last April. His revelations implicated powerful figures with vast resources, and many resulting legal proceedings are still ongoing, as evidenced by the decision handed down just days ago by the Premier League's independent commission regarding Manchester City.

The statement comes from his Portuguese and French legal team. They warn that by being abruptly deprived of his protected housing and plunged into extreme precariousness, Pinto would be more vulnerable now than at any time since 2020.

A €3 million campaign to relocate to a secret location

Faced with that situation, the Portuguese hacker has launched a GoFundMe page asking for €3 million. He accuses the Portuguese state of knowingly deciding to put his life at risk. As he explains it, he has no alternative but to move within the next few days to an undisclosed location for an indefinite period, due to the multiple death threats he has received and the serious risk of an assassination attempt against him.

What the Premier League verdict means for Manchester City

Manchester City are at the centre of one of the most serious stories in Premier League history. After being found guilty of nearly all charges, they now face possible relegation or even expulsion from the competition they currently lead. A final decision has not yet been announced, but the ruling from the independent commission leaves the club in a deeply compromised position.

The work of Pinto and the publication of Football Leaks have been at the origin of this entire process. Eight years after the first documents came to light, the Premier League has essentially proven him right.

Frequently asked questions about Rui Pinto and the Manchester City case