Rui Pinto, the Football Leaks founder whose disclosures helped place Premier League club finances under scrutiny, is considering cooperation with British authorities as his Portuguese witness-protection arrangements near their end.
Rui Pinto seeks fresh protection
The Portuguese computer specialist has said he is prepared to assist authorities in the United Kingdom if his safety can be guaranteed, following the verdict in Manchester City’s long-running financial case.
- Pinto entered a protection programme in Portugal in 2020 after providing material connected to football finance investigations.
- Portuguese authorities have decided to end that protection on 10 October, leaving him a week to find a new arrangement.
- He says he has received death threats, while his legal team has pointed to an assault on him in Lisbon in April.
- His lawyers are now examining whether he could leave Portugal for an undisclosed location and continue assisting investigators from abroad.
- One possible route would involve cooperation with British authorities, provided witness protection is put in place.
Manchester City link raises stakes
Football Leaks material was among the disclosures that brought Manchester City’s financial affairs into sharper focus. The club was found guilty on 114 of 115 charges concerning its finances between 2009 and 2018.
Pinto maintains that he still holds a substantial volume of documents gathered during his work. He has already assisted authorities elsewhere in Europe, and any agreement with investigators in Britain could potentially provide further material in a case that has run for years.
A difficult legal history
Pinto’s role as a source of football documents has always sat alongside his own legal problems. In 2023, he received a four-year prison sentence, suspended, for offences involving unlawful access to data and breaches of correspondence.
With the Portuguese protection scheme about to finish, his immediate concern is finding a secure place from which he can remain safe and, if an agreement is reached, continue to help authorities. For English football, the prospect of more documents emerging would ensure that Manchester City’s financial story remains far from the final whistle.
