The road to Manchester City’s 115 Premier League financial charges runs, in part, through a Porto supporter with a History degree, a self-taught talent for computers and a whistleblowing website that shook football from its filing cabinets upwards.
Rui Pinto was 25 when he launched Football Leaks in 2015 under the alias “John”. What followed was a vast release of confidential documents and emails from clubs, players and football institutions, exposing an industry whose paperwork was often as significant as its performances on the pitch.
From Football Leaks to the City case
- Pinto created Football Leaks in 2015, presenting the platform as a means of bringing suspected wrongdoing in football into public view.
- Using skills developed independently, he accessed the computer systems and archives of clubs, footballers and governing bodies, then published a huge volume of private material.
- The disclosures prompted scrutiny across the game, including allegations of tax fraud involving Cristiano Ronaldo and José Mourinho, while also revealing the pay of thousands of players.
- Further material raised concerns over FIFA practices, the recruitment and exploitation of African children by European football, and alleged financial doping involving Paris Saint-Germain and other clubs.
- Among the millions of leaked files were documents that became central to the Premier League’s eventual investigation into Manchester City.
The material suggested that some of the substantial revenue declared by City may not have come from fresh commercial sponsors, but instead could have reflected money supplied by the club’s ownership and presented in a way that improved its financial fair play position and expanded its scope to sign players.
Those questions sit at the heart of the Premier League’s 115 financial charges against City. An independent process examining the case is now approaching its judgment.
Pinto’s own case
- Pinto was arrested in Budapest in 2019 and subsequently extradited to Portugal.
- In 2023, he received a four-year prison sentence for unlawful access offences and attempted extortion.
- He spent 13 months in custody before the sentence was suspended following an agreement to assist the authorities with information and passwords.
- He then entered a police protection programme, receiving a secret home address and a new identity.
Football’s modern financial arguments are usually conducted through lawyers, accountants and carefully worded club statements. Football Leaks arrived from a different corner entirely, but its documents have continued to cast a long shadow — not least over the most consequential Premier League case of the era.
