Man City whistleblower speaks out about 115 charges verdict after six years living under police protection
Football whistleblower Rui Pinto has shared his thoughts on the ‘historic’ guilty verdict against Manchester City, which found the club guilty of almost all 115 Premier League charges. Pinto, who spent time in prison for leaking confidential information, is clearly pleased with the outcome.
Back in 2018, through his website Football Leaks, Pinto exposed secret documents about Manchester City’s financial dealings, aiming to reveal the truth about the club. While some saw Pinto as someone with bad intentions — which led to him spending nearly a year behind bars — his leaks eventually resulted in these serious charges against the club.
Pinto was arrested in Budapest in January 2019, then extradited to Portugal a couple of months later. He stayed in prison in Lisbon until April 2020, after which he was put under house arrest and finally released in August. In September 2023, he received a four-year suspended sentence and has been living under police protection since 2020, with his location kept secret as he helps with ongoing investigations.
When news broke that Manchester City was found guilty on 114 of the 115 charges, Pinto called it a “historic decision for English football” and said it proved he was right to leak those documents. He explained that City didn’t just bend the financial rules—they actually tried to completely break them through “structural manipulation and financial manoeuvring.” He added, “That carefully planned fraud will finally be punished, and it will have a huge impact on Manchester City.”
Pinto started Football Leaks in 2015 to show the “hidden side of football.” Besides Manchester City, he also focused on clubs like Benfica, his own club FC Porto, and some of football’s biggest stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Neymar. For Manchester City, Pinto shared over 70 million documents with German media Der Spiegel and other partners.
Since the verdict, Manchester City continues to deny any wrongdoing and plans to appeal. Pinto, who was cleared in a second trial involving 241 charges related to Football Leaks, might still face other legal challenges despite his current cooperation with Portuguese police.
It’s not yet clear what punishment the Premier League will give Manchester City for these charges, but it could be serious. Possible penalties include fines, losing points, or even being relegated from the Premier League. The most likely options are losing points, financial penalties, or removal from the league. But for now, we’ll have to wait and see what happens next.