Rui Pinto, the whistleblower whose Football Leaks disclosures helped trigger the Premier League’s investigation into Manchester City’s financial conduct, has reportedly discussed a possible cooperation role with the British regime’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), according to British media reports and remarks from his lawyer. The 38-year-old Portuguese whistleblower is said to be seeking police protection in exchange for assistance in uncovering financial and sporting crime in the United Kingdom, a move that would place one of European football’s most controversial transparency figures inside a formal investigative process. Al Jazeera sought confirmation from the SFO, but the agency did not verify whether talks were under way.
Key Takeaways: Pinto’s lawyers have been contacted by the SFO after he offered cooperation in exchange for security measures, The Guardian reported. Manchester City were found guilty of all but one of 115 charges relating to Premier League financial rules, following leaks covering 2009-2018. Pinto says his Portuguese witness protection ended on October 10, though Lisbon’s justice ministry later extended protection pending a hearing.
The case matters because it links two sensitive areas: elite football governance and the treatment of whistleblowers who expose financial wrongdoing. Pinto founded Football Leaks, a website that obtained private documents and exposed backroom dealings across European football. Those documents underpinned the Premier League’s independent commission probe into Manchester City, which was found guilty of almost all of the 115 charges brought over alleged breaches from 2009 to 2018. The affair has already reshaped debate over club finance rules, investigative journalism and the personal risks faced by sources who release confidential material.
The SFO told Al Jazeera in an emailed statement: ‘In line with long-established practice to avoid prejudice to law enforcement activity, we can neither confirm nor deny any investigation into this matter.’ Pinto appeared to confirm the reports by reposting an article about the discussions on social media. His lawyer, William Bourdon — who has represented Julian Assange and Edward Snowden — was quoted by The Guardian as saying: ‘I can confirm that the process is under way.’ Pinto has said he fears for his life after being told his witness protection programme would end on October 10, and he launched a GoFundMe campaign to help establish an anonymous new life.
Pinto’s legal history is complex. At the start of his trial in April 2020, he faced 90 charges including unauthorised access to data, violation of correspondence and attempted extortion at Lisbon’s Central Criminal Court. He denied being a hacker, saying: ‘I don’t consider myself a hacker. I am a whistleblower... The revelations are serious and I’m proud; there’s no shame. I haven’t done anything for money.’ He acknowledged releasing 70 million documents on football’s backroom workings. In September 2023 he received a four-year suspended sentence for illegally obtaining documents, other cybercrimes and attempted extortion; the source text also says he was later acquitted on 241 separate counts in a second trial in April 2026 after the court ruled the charges ‘invalid’.
Pinto has been a protected witness since August 2020. After his lawyers challenged Portugal’s decision to end protection, the Portuguese Ministry of Justice said it would extend his protection pending a new hearing. The reported contacts with the British regime’s SFO now raise questions about whether he could become a formal cooperating witness in the UK, what security guarantees might be offered, and whether any new testimony could affect ongoing football-finance investigations. For now, the SFO is neither confirming nor denying any probe, and Pinto’s legal team says only that a process is under way.
Source: www.aljazeera.com