Rui Pinto: The Man City whistleblower still fearing attacks 10 years after exposing scandal

Rui Pinto is one of the most important figures in modern football, yet the majority of fans likely don't know his name. But while they might not recognise his name, almost all supporters are aware of his impact.

As the founder of Football Leaks, Pinto has helped to expose the murky world away from the pitch.

It was January 2017 when a phishing email gained him access to Manchester City's deepest and darkest secrets and over the last week, since City's guilty verdict was made public, Pinto has been gleefully celebrating on social media. "Years and years of cheating, lying and manipulation will finally have consequences," he wrote at the end of one of many posts on X.

However, while he no doubt feels vindicated by the verdict of the Premier League commission - despite City continually pleading their innocence and confirming their appeal - there has been a considerable sting in the tail for the Portuguese whistleblower.

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On Wednesday, Portuguese authorities confirmed that Pinto would no longer be protected as a witness. The 37-year-old has been under the state's protection since 2020, including being given a safe house, but he will lose those privileges on October 10.

Despite recent developments thrusting him back into the spotlight, the authorities have now deemed Pinto be low risk. He has been advised to avoid social media, not to contact his family and avoid crowded places.

In a statement on Friday, his lawyers appealed for the decision to be overturned, calling them "shameful actions" and even akin to "an act of state terrorism".

"His situation is now critical. The threats against him are not merely theoretical; he was assaulted in Lisbon last April," the statement reads.

"His revelations implicated powerful figures with vast resources, and many resulting legal proceedings are still ongoing, as evidenced by the decision handed down just days ago by the Premier League’s independent commission regarding Manchester City.

"Abruptly deprived of his protected housing and plunged into a state of extreme precariousness, Rui Pinto would be more vulnerable now than at any time since 2020."

Pinto's lawyers say he has received death threats after sacrificing himself to expose the wrongdoing behind the scenes in elite football. While he calls himself a whistleblower, Pinto is also a hacker with a criminal conviction.

In September 2023 the former history student from Porto was given a suspended four-year sentence, having been found guilty on counts of attempted extortion, illegal access to data and breach of correspondence. It followed leaks from Doyen Sports, an investment fund and management agency.

Pinto, who had been known by the alias "John" before being unmasked, had hacked into Doyen Sports and leaked scores of documents, which made headlines around the world. He was extradited from Hungary, where he had been living in the capital Budapest, to Portugal to face the charges in March 2019, just months after allegations against Manchester City first arose.

It was November 2018 when German publication Der Spiegel used Pinto's hacked documents to allege City had been breaking financial rules to get ahead. That bombshell reporting first led to charges against the club from UEFA and then to the Premier League case we have finally heard the verdict of.

UEFA initially banned City from European competitions for two years but the verdict was later overturned on appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The Premier League's case has used emails from City employees that were hacked by Pinto and which City did not disclose to the league.

Thanks in part to Pinto's leaks, the Premier League were able to go much further than UEFA with their allegations, 114 of which have since been proven.