Archive · 28 Sep 2026
Rui Pinto: Football Leaks Exposé Puts Manchester City Under Scrutiny
Rui Pinto is a Portuguese man who helped start a website called Football Leaks.
The website published secret documents about football clubs, players and wealthy businesspeople.
Some people think Pinto exposed wrongdoing by powerful organizations.
Other people think he illegally broke into private accounts and stole information.
The article connects his work to evidence about Manchester City’s alleged financial-rule violations.
Pinto was convicted of several computer-related crimes and attempted extortion.
He received a suspended prison sentence instead of serving active jail time.
He now lives under police protection because he says he receives frequent death threats.
Rui Pinto helped create Football Leaks, a project that published confidential information about football clubs and players.
The article links Pinto’s leaked material to documentation concerning Manchester City’s alleged financial-rule violations.
Manchester City was reported to have been found guilty of 114 of 115 charges, though the club is expected to challenge the findings.
Pinto was convicted in Portugal of most charges involving unauthorized access, correspondence breaches, computer sabotage and attempted extortion.
He received a suspended four-year sentence and reportedly lives under police protection after facing repeated death threats.
- Who
- Rui Pinto, the self-described self-taught computer expert associated with Football Leaks, and Manchester City.
- What
- Pinto’s leaked documents are linked in the article to investigations into Manchester City’s alleged financial breaches, while Pinto himself faced convictions for illegal computer access and related offenses.
- When
- Pinto began the Football Leaks project about 12 years before the article; his identity became public in 2018, and Manchester City’s alleged breaches were documented by Der Spiegel in 2019.
- Where
- The events involved Budapest and Lisbon, Portugal; Pinto currently lives at an undisclosed location under police protection.
- Why
- Pinto and his associates said they wanted to expose corruption, tax evasion and secret dealings, while prosecutors pursued him for unauthorized access, correspondence breaches, computer sabotage and attempted extortion.
Supporters’ view
Critics’ view
Public-interest disclosures
Supporters’ view
Supporters portray Pinto as a Robin Hood- or David-like figure who exposed alleged wrongdoing by powerful football clubs, wealthy individuals and business networks.
Critics’ view
Critics argue that exposing alleged wrongdoing does not justify illegally accessing private accounts, correspondence and computer systems.
Manchester City evidence
Supporters’ view
The article presents Pinto’s Football Leaks work as contributing to documentation that preceded findings against Manchester City over alleged financial-rule violations.
Critics’ view
Manchester City is expected to challenge the panel’s findings, and the article notes that the dispute could continue for years.
Treatment of Pinto
Supporters’ view
Pinto says he was uniquely deprived of his freedom while people implicated in the Football Leaks, Malta Files and Luanda Files allegations were not remanded in custody.
Critics’ view
Authorities prosecuted Pinto for unauthorized access, correspondence breaches, computer sabotage and attempted extortion, and a court found him guilty of most charges.
- Football Leaks
- A project associated with Pinto that published confidential football-related documents.
- Manchester City charges
- The article reports that Manchester City was found guilty of 114 of 115 financial-breach charges.
- 2019 documentation
- German publication Der Spiegel documented the alleged Manchester City breaches in 2019.
- Pinto’s sentence
- A Lisbon court gave Pinto a four-year suspended prison sentence.
- Cases cleared
- An amnesty for young offenders cleared him of 79 of 90 cases, according to the article.
- Protection
- Pinto has reportedly lived under police witness protection at an undisclosed location.
- Other leaks
- His disclosures also included the Malta Files and Luanda Files investigations.