Crime25 September, 20262 min read
Rui Pinto Publishes Football Leaks Documents To Take Down Manchester City
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Rui Pinto published confidential Manchester City documents through Football Leaks, including internal sponsorship emails. The disclosures contributed to Premier League charges alleging 100+ financial rule breaches by City.
Hacker, leaks, and charges
Rui Pinto, the Portuguese computer hacker behind Football Leaks, tried to take down Manchester City by publishing a cache of confidential club documents, including internal emails about sponsorship deals and payments. Football Leaks disclosures ultimately led to Premier League charges for breaching of financial rules, and BBC Sport said Friday’s news came after the club had been found guilty of the majority of the 115 counts.
Pinto, described as 37-year-old, set up Football Leaks in 2015 to expose "the hidden side of football," and the Portuguese journalist Antonio Varela said he was the first person contacted by Pinto. Mario Falcao, Pinto’s former geography teacher, remembered Pinto as "a perfectly normal pupil" who was "very good in computers" and who passed Escola Secundaria Almeida Garrett after missing classes quite often.
Whistleblower or thief
Antonio Varela said Football Leaks got the information illegally, but he argued that "since the moment they publish the information on the site, that's public information." Rui Pinto’s defenders and critics split sharply, with Realnews Magazine reporting that former Portuguese politician and diplomat Ana Gomes described Pinto as an important whistleblower who should be protected rather than prosecuted.
Realnews Magazine also quoted retired journalist Jose Carlos Freitas saying most people regarded Pinto as a thief, while some viewed him as a figure who exposed wrongdoing in football. Rui Patricio, Benfica lawyer, described Pinto as a burglar who had obtained information through illegal means, and Pinto’s lawyer Francisco Texeira da Mota said his client was neither a hero nor a saint but argued his activities produced benefits for society.
Legal fallout and stakes
Manchester City faced the possibility of being relegated from the Premier League or expelled from the competition altogether after a verdict in the biggest disciplinary case in the history of the sport was delivered. The Guardian reported that Manchester City executives learned about the outcome following a shareholders’ meeting in central London on Thursday, and the Premier League did not comment citing the confidential nature of the case.
“Rui Pinto has called the ruling 'historic' and told fans to 'fasten your seat belts'.”
Rui Pinto called the ruling "historic" and told fans to "fasten your seat belts," while Mirror reported that Pinto said his leak had seen City found guilty of 114 of 115 charges. The New York Times timeline said charges delivered by the Premier League in February 2023 brought a four-year investigation to a head, and it said the hearing held from September to December of 2024 accused City of 115 breaches of financial rules.