Man City whistleblower Rui Pinto to lose witness protection on October 10

October 3, 2026 at 01:05 PM2 min

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Rui Pinto, the whistleblower behind the Manchester City financial investigation, says his witness protection will end on October 10. He announced on Friday that he will relocate to an undisclosed location for an indefinite period, citing multiple death threats and a serious risk of assassination. The move comes as Manchester City filed an appeal against the Premier League's guilty verdict.

Key Facts

Rui Pinto's witness protection from Portuguese authorities ends on October 10, 2026.
Pinto says he has received multiple death threats and will relocate to an undisclosed location for an indefinite period.
Manchester City filed an appeal on Friday against the Premier League's guilty verdict on 115 financial rule breach charges.
Pinto founded Football Leaks in 2015 under the pseudonym 'John' and was unmasked in 2019.

Witness Protection Withdrawal

Rui Pinto was informed on Wednesday that his witness protection programme from Portuguese authorities would end on October 10. He described the decision as 'knowingly placing me in a life-threatening situation'. Pinto has been a protected witness since August 2020 after agreeing to grant Portuguese authorities access to millions of files gathered before his arrest. His first trial in Portugal began a month later, resulting in a suspended sentence for illegally obtaining documents, committing other cybercrimes, and attempted extortion.

Death Threats and Relocation

Pinto wrote in a social media post on Friday that he has received 'multiple death threats' and fears for his life. He stated he has no alternative but to relocate 'within the next few days' to an undisclosed location for an indefinite period due to the serious risk of an assassination attempt. Pinto has set up a GoFundMe campaign, asking for support to 'help me survive this serious situation created by the Portuguese State'. He thanked everyone who supported Football Leaks, which he founded in 2015 under the pseudonym 'John' before being unmasked in 2019.

Manchester City Case

The 37-year-old Portuguese founder of Football Leaks obtained private documents that showed Manchester City broke league rules from 2009 to 2018. An independent commission found City guilty of all but one of 115 charges brought against them over breaches of Premier League financial rules. On Friday, City filed an appeal against the ruling as it seeks to overturn the decision and avoid potentially severe sanctions. Pinto has been vociferous about City's financial misconduct scandal on social media since the commission's verdict was first reported last week, calling it a 'historic decision for English football'.