Rui Pinto: The Hacker Who Toppled Man City's 115 Charges

Rui Pinto: The Hacker Who Exposed Man City's 115 Charges

Portuguese hacker Rui Pinto, founder of Football Leaks, leaked confidential Manchester City documents that triggered the Premier League's 115 charges, resulting in a guilty verdict on Friday. BBC Sport travelled Europe to speak to those who know him.

• Key figure: Rui Pinto, 37, Portuguese computer hacker and founder of Football Leaks
• Leak content: Confidential club documents including internal emails about sponsorship deals and payments
• Consequence: Premier League charges for breaching financial rules; Man City found guilty of majority of 115 counts
• Verdict date: Friday (news published 5 minutes ago at time of report)
• Data volume: Over 3 terabytes provided to Der Spiegel and European Investigative Collaborations
• Legal status: 37-year-old Pinto has faced multiple court cases; some campaign for him to be protected as a whistleblower

What was said

"Rui was a perfectly normal pupil. He was nice, with his spiky hair, he was quite sociable but not extrovert."

"Certainly he was very good in computers. All the work that he did for various courses were very good, when he put his mind to it."

"We were very surprised. We weren't imagining anything like this could happen, that he could have problems with justice. I certainly wouldn't wish him and his family to be in this situation. Perhaps it was a question of the excesses of youth, his ability with computers, and maybe an excess of club-ism. So, you know, the fact that he supported FC Porto prompted him to commit some acts, but maybe he also felt the need for justice that young people very often do feel."

"It was a common day of September 2015. I was at the news room at [Portuguese sports newspaper] Record and I got an email from Football Leaks. It was strange. Then I immediately go to the site, and I can't believe there is lots of information that you never heard or read. We made the conclusion this is very, very important."

"We realised that [Football Leaks] got the information illegally. But since the moment they publish the information on the site, that's public information. You can't ignore that. Ethically, it's complicated, but the public interest is more relevant than the ethical issue. That was the conclusion."

"In the beginning it was very much a fascinating feeling of like a child in a candy store. If you're a football fan, if you're a sports journalist, it was amazing to see the actual documents, to see those emails where things are negotiated and to get a real look behind the curtain, how things work. It's very important when you have this type of documents, this type of data, that you make a lot of cross checks, that you use some software which we did that can put it all into context and you can see if there's any reliability issues. We always need to make sure that it's authentic material and whenever we publish something about it, it needs to be in the public interest to start writing."

"Rui Pinto is not very tall. He has very distinctive hair, like spiky hair. He usually has red cheeks and he's a youthful, cheeky, funny character. He's friendly and warm when you meet him. He's a very impressive character, he's very focused, he's very concentrated. He's very, very intelligent. He's very idealistic about the topics that he uncovered. He's one of the most important whistleblowers that we have in Europe or maybe the world."

"What he has exposed is very important. In Portugal, definitely he is by far the most important whistleblower. He should be made an ally of our judicial and criminal investigative authorities. He has helped the authorities of other European countries in going after the corrupt and the criminals, instead of being the subject of this judicial prosecution by the choice of our public prosecutors."

These quotes paint a picture of Pinto as a complex figure: a quiet, intelligent schoolboy who became a divisive whistleblower. His former teacher remembers a sociable but not extroverted pupil, while journalists and politicians describe a focused, idealistic man who believed he was exposing football's dark side. The moral ambiguity is clear—some call him a criminal, others a hero.

The numbers

• 37 — Pinto's age
• 3 terabytes — data provided to Der Spiegel and European Investigative Collaborations (equivalent to about 3,000 copies of the Encyclopedia Britannica)
• 115 — Premier League charges against Man City; club found guilty of majority on Friday
• 2015 — year Football Leaks launched
• 2019 — year Pinto was named as founder and met Winterbach in prison

The data trove that shook football

The sheer volume—over 3 terabytes, comparable to 3,000 copies of the Encyclopedia Britannica—made Football Leaks one of the biggest leaks in sports history. Der Spiegel's Hamburg newsroom meticulously sifted through the material, cross-checking and authenticating documents before publishing explosive articles. Their work exposed hidden sponsorship deals and payment structures at Manchester City, leading to the Premier League charges.

Pinto targeted not only City but also Benfica, FC Porto (the club he supports), and global stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar. The leaks forced football to confront its opaque financial practices and raised questions about the ethics of using stolen data for public interest journalism.

Talking points

• Should Pinto be protected as a whistleblower or prosecuted as a criminal? His leaks exposed wrongdoing but were obtained illegally, dividing opinion even among those who benefited from them.
• Does the end justify the means? The public interest in exposing financial rule breaches may outweigh the ethical concerns of hacking, but the legal system must still uphold its principles.
• What does Man City's guilty verdict mean for the credibility of the Premier League's financial regulations? The case highlights the lengths clubs go to in order to gain an edge.
• How much should fans care about the provenance of information? Many City supporters had never heard of Pinto, yet his actions directly affected their club's future.

What happens next

The guilty verdict on the majority of the 115 counts is a landmark moment for the Premier League. Manchester City now face potential sanctions, which could include fines, transfer restrictions, or even points deductions. The club is expected to appeal, and the fallout will shape the future of financial fair play in English football.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Rui Pinto?

Rui Pinto is a 37-year-old Portuguese computer hacker who founded Football Leaks in 2015. He leaked confidential Manchester City documents that led to the Premier League's 115 charges for breaching financial rules.

What did Rui Pinto leak about Manchester City?

Pinto published a cache of confidential club documents, including internal emails about sponsorship deals and payments. This ultimately resulted in the Premier League charges and Friday's guilty verdict.

What was the outcome of the Man City charges?

On Friday, Manchester City were found guilty of the majority of the 115 counts of breaching financial rules. The club is expected to face sanctions, and an appeal is likely.

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