Infantino's Secret Deals With Man City and PSG: Portuguese Whistleblower Pinto Brands FIFA Boss 'a Cancer on Football'

Portuguese hacker and whistleblower Rui Pinto, founder of the Football Leaks platform, has revisited events from 2014 when emerging European football powerhouses Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain faced potential Champions League expulsion and other severe sanctions for multiple Financial Fair Play (FFP) breaches. Crucial to the final outcome back then was none other than UEFA's then-General Secretary, Gianni Infantino.

While Manchester City are currently fighting serious charges in the Premier League, both City and PSG faced similarly severe punishments from UEFA back in 2014. UEFA's independent Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) investigatory chamber found both clubs guilty of massive FFP violations by artificially inflating revenues via sponsors tied to Abu Dhabi and Qatar.

Investigators originally demanded the harshest possible penalty at the time: a full exclusion from the Champions League alongside other heavy sporting sanctions.

However, the bans were never enforced. Both clubs escaped with financial fines and temporary restrictions on their European squad sizes. As Rui Pinto later exposed, this outcome was engineered from the very top. Gianni Infantino, serving as UEFA's General Secretary, actively bypassed the independent investigatory chamber.

Infantino held secret negotiations directly with the owners of both clubs, shared confidential case files, and helped broker lenient settlement agreements—effectively shielding them from devastating punishments, according to Pinto. Both clubs eventually paid a reduced fine of €20 million each, having originally faced penalties up to €60 million.

Rui Pinto delivered a scathing reminder of the current FIFA president's actions in a social media post on Wednesday, going so far as to label Infantino a "cancer on football."

"Back in 2014, there was a man who knew all about the irregularities surrounding Manchester City. Today, that man leads FIFA. The infamous Gianni Infantino, then UEFA General Secretary, abused his authority, leaked confidential files, and completely undermined the investigatory chamber," Pinto wrote.

"He did everything within his power to ensure both Manchester City and PSG escaped with mere fines, preventing a deeper investigation that could have resulted in a Champions League ban. All these details were laid bare by Football Leaks," the Portuguese whistleblower added.

"Looking at his track record as UEFA General Secretary and more recently as FIFA President, in my humble opinion, Gianni Infantino has become a cancer on football and should have no place in the future of the game," Pinto stated bluntly.

As Manchester City continue to deal with the fallout of Pinto's revelations before an independent Premier League commission, scrutiny is also intensifying on Infantino. The Swiss administrator is currently gearing up for a campaign to secure a fourth term as FIFA president in the 2027 elections.