# Football Leaks hacker who sparked Man City probe in talks with SFO over co-operation

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/football-leaks-hacker-who-sparked-man-city-probe-in-talks-with-sfo-over-co-operation/
- Published: 2026-11-10T15:55:02+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-10T17:10:37+00:00
- Original publisher: City AM (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.cityam.com/football-leaks-hacker-who-sparked-man-city-probe-in-talks-with-sfo-over-co-operation/
- Topics: Business, Cybersecurity, Football, Sport, Technology, UK, World

## Key points

- Rui Pinto says he is discussing co-operation with the SFO.
- He is seeking protection after Portugal moved to end his witness safeguarding.
- Manchester City denies the financial rule breaches and is appealing.

## Summary

Rui Pinto, the Portuguese source behind Football Leaks, says he is in talks with British authorities about co-operating with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). He is seeking protection in return for helping expose crime, after Portugal told him his six years in witness protection would end; the reported talks come amid renewed attention to material that prompted investigations into Manchester City.

Pinto, 38, obtained millions of confidential documents about football clubs and players, and later worked with European media organisations to publish material that led to Uefa and Premier League inquiries into City. He was convicted of five cybercrime offences in Portugal and given a four-year suspended sentence, and is appealing the end of his protection. City were recently found by an independent commission to have breached financial rules more than 100 times between 2009 and 2018, including by disguising over £900m in owner contributions as sponsorship income; the club denies wrongdoing and is appealing.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.