Walter Finch
A FOOTBALL leaks hacker who revealed alleged wrongdoing by Premier League champions Manchester City has sensationally announced he will release more damning evidence against the club.
Rui Pinto told the Offshore Alert Marbella conference in Estepona’s five-star Kempinksi resort he had ‘a massive file of Manchester City-related documents’ which he has been holding in reserve.
The 35-year-old was speaking to the conference, attended by the Olive Press, via video link from a secure safe house after threats were made against his life.
His initial leak in 2017 prompted football authorities to open an investigation into the Abu Dhabi-owned club for breaking Financial Fair Play rules.
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It led to the club being hit with a staggering 115 separate charges by the Premier League.
A titanic hearing set for the autumn could shake English football to its very core, with the club facing the possibility of relegation to the lower reaches of English football.
Officials from the UAE have even told their British counterparts that such an outcome could affect diplomatic relations.
But the evidence against the Manchester club could be piling up.
“The Man City releases showed amounts of money being paid into by the club that were not mentioned to the football authorities,” Pinto told the Offshore Alert Marbella conference.
“These documents are from part of the Premier League investigation into City.
“I have now handed five hard drives to French and German authorities with millions of documents, including more on City and I have described what is on each.
“I am confident they will find criminal relevancy.”
A legal representative for Pinto added that the further unreleased files he is holding ‘will be published at some point’.
David Marchant, the organiser of Offshore Alert Marbella, told the Olive Press: “Rui Pinto is undoubtedly the most significant whistleblower in the history of football.”
“His work has already had a dramatic impact in terms of holding players and clubs accountable for their behind-closed-doors actions and it’s evident from his revelations at OffshoreAlert’s recent Marbella Conference that there’s more to come, most notably concerning Manchester City.
“As the saying goes, ‘Truth will out’, particularly in an era when records are routinely stored online.”
The Portuguese has been in a witness protection programme since 2020 while last year he was found guilty of stealing confidential data.
His original leaks saw City hit with a two year ban from European competition and handed a €29 million fine by Uefa in 2020 – only to be overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
