- Rui Pinto, 35, gained access to thousands of city emails in 2018 and leaked them
- City are set to face a hearing on their 115 Premier League charges this year
- Listen to It’s all starting! Would Portugal be better off without Cristiano Ronaldo?
The hacker behind the explosive Football Leaks scandal has threatened to publish a series of Manchester City emails and documents, and is confident they will prove the club deliberately cheated on Financial Fair Play rules.
Rui Pinto, who gained access to thousands of city emails and leaked a large number to the media in 2018, has claimed to have provided authorities in Germany and France with “millions” of damning documents which he claims will show “criminal relevance.”
The 35-year-old has been in a witness protection program since 2020. A court in Portugal handed him a four-year suspended sentence last year, but he avoided jail despite being found guilty of attempted extortion and access illegal to data.
Pinto is believed to have kept most of the documents relating to City’s financial activities, but previously leaked explosive details about the club’s sponsorship income and details about former manager Roberto Mancini’s contract.
City vehemently deny any wrongdoing but are expected to face a hearing this autumn on their 115 Premier League charges over alleged financial irregularities.
The hacker behind the Football Leaks scandal has threatened to publish documents which he claims will prove Manchester City deliberately breached Financial Fair Play rules.
Rui Pinto obtained access to thousands of City Hall emails and leaked a large number in 2018
The club remains accused of hiding payments through third parties by disguising them as sponsorship income, a blatant breach of the FFP.
From his refuge, Pinto told the OffShore-Alert Marbella conference via video link: “Manchester City’s statements showed amounts of money paid by the club that were not mentioned to football authorities.
“These documents form part of the Premier League’s investigation into City. I have already handed over five hard drives to the French and German authorities containing millions of documents, including more about City, and I have described what is on each one.
“I’m sure they will find criminal relevance.”
A legal representative for Pinto added: “Investigators approached us to share information about Manchester City that had not been previously revealed.”
“We haven’t published the information yet, but we have a huge file of documents relating to Manchester City that has not yet been published.”
The city has been accused of hiding payments through third parties by disguising them as sponsorship income, a flagrant violation of the FFP (pictured: owner Sheikh Mansour)
Pinto has said he is “confident” the new city documents will show “criminal relevance”
City to face hearing on their 115 Premier League charges months after winning title
“The files will be released at some point, we can’t say when, but we will.”
Pinto’s past leaks saw City hit with a shock two-year European ban by UEFA in 2020 for breaching financial restrictions, while the club was also fined almost £25m.
City, however, overturned his suspension at the Court of Arbitration for Sport after being cleared of “disguising capital funds as sponsorship contributions”. They were accused of violating the FFP between 2012 and 2016.
The city said they were “surprised” by the pending FFP investigation.
Launching a strong defense, they added: ‘The club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent commission, to impartially consider the full body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position.
“Therefore, we hope that this matter will be resolved once and for all.”