Rui Pinto loses protection and will move to a hidden site
Rui Pinto, creator of Football Leaks, has announced that he will have to move to an undisclosed location after Portugal's witness protection commission withdrew his protected witness status, leaving him without police protection and exposed to possible reprisals.
End of official protection
The commission responsible for Portugal's witness protection programme informed him of its decision to end his participation in the programme and to withdraw his police protection. Pinto said that he now feels unprotected and vulnerable to possible attacks.
On his social media he wrote: “What knowingly exposes me to a situation that endangers my life. Given the circumstances, I have no choice but to relocate, in the coming days, to an undisclosed location for an indefinite period, due to the multiple death threats I have received and the serious risk of an assassination attempt against me.”
Threats and legal request
Lawyers of Pinto had already asked the Portuguese authorities to reconsider the decision, arguing that many judicial proceedings stemming from his revelations are still ongoing, as demonstrated by the recent decision of the Premier League independent commission regarding Manchester City. The request highlights the risk the whistleblower faces from possible reprisals.
Football Leaks, the platform he founded, leaked the most high‑profile football scandals, including the financial doping of clubs such as PSG and documents that implicated Infantino and Platini at the head of UEFA. It was also the first source to raise suspicions about the charges now being pursued against Manchester City.
The massive document leak began in 2015 and revealed contracts, transfers and financial operations of clubs, players and agents across Europe, triggering investigations in several countries.
Pinto was sentenced in Portugal in 2023 to four years of suspended prison for offences of illegal access to emails and computer systems, as well as an attempted extortion. That same year he received in France a suspended six‑month prison sentence for illegally accessing PSG’s email accounts.
In 2026 he was acquitted in another case related to Football Leaks in which he faced 241 offences, his legal team reported.
The exfiltrator has confirmed that he will move “in the coming days” to an undisclosed site for an indefinite period, a measure that, according to him, is necessary to protect his life from the threats he has received.