Who is the man who brought Manchester City to their knees? The hacker who wore a bulletproof vest to court

The price of truth was extraordinarily high in his case, and few figures in modern sport have polarized public opinion quite like him. In Portugal, he found himself at the centre of two massive legal battles. The first trial, dragging on for an exhausting 36 months, culminated in a four-year suspended sentence. The court found him guilty on nine counts – five for unauthorized access to computer systems, three for intercepting private correspondence, and one for attempted extortion of a company implicated in his leaks.

Although Rui Pinto maintained that he had acted strictly in the public interest, the judge delivered an uncompromising verdict: “It was clearly established that Rui Pinto sought financial gain. Freedom of information does not justify violations of privacy. The court hopes the defendant's remorse is genuine and that he will refrain from such conduct in the future.”

In January 2025, a second trial commenced, known in the Portuguese press as the 'Email Case'. It concerned events between 2016 and 2019 surrounding the blog Mercado Benfica, which Pinto denied authoring. The indictment was staggering: 241 counts, including 201 for illegal access to files, 22 for intercepting correspondence, and 18 for cybercrimes. However, in April, the court cleared him of all charges.

Back in 2017, Pinto leaked internal emails pointing to widespread corruption within the hierarchy of Lisbon giants Benfica, although the club vehemently denied all allegations.

Portuguese politician Ana Gomes, who publicly championed the whistleblower, told The Athletic in 2020: “Rui Pinto exposed information on all the major Portuguese clubs. Benfica, however, were undoubtedly one of the driving forces behind this prosecution. As the club with the largest fan base in Portugal, they wield significant political influence – including within the judicial system.”

Gomes added that his disclosures represented a conscious act of civic duty: “Many in Portugal already see him as a hero. He may have committed infractions along the way, but the court must take into account the immense service Rui Pinto provided to society. What he uncovered is of vital importance. He has indisputably become Portugal's most significant whistleblower.”

His French defence attorney, William Bourdon, echoed that sentiment, declaring to the newspaper Público in 2020: “Rui Pinto should be the pride of Portugal.”

In Porto, crowds marched through the streets in his support, while a group of radical supporters stormed the parliament building demanding his immediate release.

Who is the man behind the leaks? Rui Pinto was raised in Vila Nova de Gaia, just across the Douro from Porto. After losing his mother at the age of eleven, his world narrowed to a deep obsession with football and an unconditional love for FC Porto.

“It is very difficult to define Rui Pinto. Had he wanted to, he probably could have been the top student in the class, but that never happened,” one of his former high school teachers recalled in an interview with The New Yorker. Pinto dropped out of his history degree and had no formal education in IT; he was entirely self-taught.

Christoph Winterbach, an investigative reporter for the German weekly Der Spiegel who collaborated closely with him, described his persona to The Athletic: “I would call Rui Pinto a deep thinker with a strong penchant for self-reflection. He embodies a 'do-it-yourself' mentality. He grasps and retains complex topics remarkably fast.”

Thus, Football Leaks was born. Living in Budapest as an antique dealer, Pinto began publishing confidential contracts under the pseudonym 'John' in 2015. He claimed the files came from disgruntled insiders across the game. By the end of 2018, he had handed more than 70 million documents to Der Spiegel, permanently shifting the global perspective on the football business.

The early disclosures featured bizarre, eye-catching clauses. The public learned that Real Betis barred Rafael van der Vaart from wearing red boots, and that Liverpool set Roberto Firmino’s release clause at €114 million with the express condition that Arsenal could never trigger it.

The documents also revealed that Real Madrid deliberately deflated Gareth Bale's transfer fee in their official accounts in 2013, ensuring Cristiano Ronaldo retained the title of the world’s most expensive footballer.

The leaks soon escalated from quirks to seismic revelations. Pinto exposed tax fraud schemes involving José Mourinho and Mesut Özil, outlined Bayern Munich’s blueprints for a breakaway European Super League (which the Bavarian club denied), and brought to light rape allegations against Cristiano Ronaldo (which the player strongly denied and was never convicted of).

His reach expanded beyond football through the 'Luanda Leaks', detailing the financial dealings of Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos. Facing twelve criminal charges in Angola, dos Santos later had her assets frozen by a London court. While Pinto maintained that he was not operating entirely alone, he bore the legal burden single-handedly.

Today, his most far-reaching impact involves the scrutiny faced by European football's elite, most notably Manchester City. Leaked internal emails detailing alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play regulations initially led UEFA to hand the Premier League champions a two-year ban from European competition. Although the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) subsequently overturned the sanction, the wider inquiry gained unstoppable momentum.

On 29 September, the Premier League confirmed that an independent commission found Manchester City guilty of 114 breaches of financial regulations. While sanctions are yet to be finalized and City plan to appeal, Pinto took to social media to label the situation "explosive".

When the full scope of the substantiated charges emerged, Pinto celebrated the outcome as a watershed moment for English football and a direct triumph for the Football Leaks project.

Regardless of how the legal saga resolves for Manchester City, Rui Pinto's shadow will loom large over world football for years to come. Portuguese journalist José Carlos Freitas perhaps summarized his legacy best: “Most people look at him as a thief. For some, he is a Robin Hood figure who exposed the dark side of football's business. But in truth, for the vast majority, he is simply viewed as a villain.”