Man City whistleblower makes shock announcement just days after guilty verdict

Rui Pinto, the whistleblower whose leaks prompted investigations into Manchester City's finances, has claimed he has been informed of a threat to his life and, as a result, been forced to relocate.

For those unaware, Pinto is the founder of Football Leaks, a website that obtained millions of confidential documents that would eventually trigger an investigation into City over alleged breaches of financial rules between 2009 and 2018.

Earlier this week, the Premier League announced that City have been found guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of its financial rules following a ruling by an independent commission.

READ MORE: Man City reach decision on 114 charges appeal with new statement issued

The commission found that between 2009-10 and 2017-18, the club arranged "sham" contracts with commercial partners as part of a "disguised funding scheme" to artificially inflate the club's revenues by £830 million.

Pinto reacted to the news by saying it was a “historic decision for English football” that vindicated his actions to leak the documents.

Rui Pinto claims his life is under threat after Man City charges verdict

On Friday evening (October 2), Pinto once again took to X, telling his followers that he has been forced to move after being informed that he would no longer be under Portugal’s witness protection programme. This appears to be the ‘big announcement’ he had previewed on his account on October 1.

In a statement, he wrote: “On Wednesday, just hours after the verdict officially confirming Manchester City’s guilt, the Commission responsible for Portugal's witness protection programme informed me of its decision to terminate my participation in the programme and withdraw my police protection, thereby knowingly placing me in a life-threatening situation.

“Given these circumstances, I have no alternative but to relocate, within the next few days, to an undisclosed location for an indefinite period of time, due to the multiple death threats I have received and the serious risk of an assassination attempt against me.

“For this reason, I have just set up a GoFundMe campaign and I am asking for everyone's support to help me survive this serious situation created by the Portuguese State, which, as I have already stated, has knowingly decided to place my life at risk. I would like to take this opportunity to extend a special thanks to everyone who continues to support Football Leaks, and I can give everyone one guarantee: the fight will most certainly continue!”

Rui Pinto publicly targeted FIFA president Gianni Infantino after Man City charges news

Earlier this week, Pinto took to social media platform X to double down on previous allegations.

Pinto has accused FIFA president Gianni Infantino of actively shielding both Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain from severe European punishments during his tenure as UEFA general secretary.

Reports originally published by Der Spiegel suggested the two state-backed clubs artificially inflated sponsorship deals to comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

"Back in 2014, there was a man who was already aware of the irregularities involving Manchester City," Pinto wrote on X.

"The infamous Gianni Infantino, then UEFA general secretary, abused his authority, shared confidential documents and, in short, outmanoeuvred the investigatory chamber, doing everything in his power to ensure that both Manchester City and PSG would merely receive a fine, avoiding a deeper investigation that could have led to a Champions League ban.

"All of these details were also revealed through Football Leaks. Given his actions as UEFA general secretary and, more recently, as FIFA president, I can only say, in my humble opinion, that Gianni Infantino has become a cancer on football and should have no place in the future of the game."

READ MORE: FA release statement over Manchester City FFP case with warning over 'integrity of the game'