Rui Pinto has said he is preparing to leave Portugal because he fears for his safety after being told that his participation in the country’s witness protection programme has been terminated. The Football Leaks founder claimed he has received multiple death threats and faces “the serious risk of an assassination attempt against me”.
Pinto, 37, wrote on X on Friday that the decision was taken on 30 September 2026, just hours after the verdict officially confirming Manchester City’s guilt. The Premier League found Manchester City guilty of 115 charges, an investigation prompted by Pinto’s leaks of thousands of private documents. He said the commission responsible for Portugal’s witness protection programme informed him it was terminating his participation and withdrawing his police protection, knowingly placing him 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,” Pinto wrote. He said he had set up a GoFundMe campaign and asked for support to help him survive the situation created by the Portuguese state, which he said had knowingly decided to place his life at risk.
The GoFundMe campaign has a target of €3m (£2.55m) and had received €4,000 in the first half-hour after it was posted. Pinto thanked everyone who continues to support Football Leaks and said: “the fight will most certainly continue”.
Pinto’s lawyers confirmed they will appeal against the decision taken by the Portuguese authorities. They said ending his protection would leave him “more vulnerable than at any point since 2020”, argued it was taken without giving him an opportunity to be heard, and described the circumstances as a “failure to respect the rule of law”. In a request to Portugal’s Ministry of Justice, they asked the government to reconsider the decision, disclose the material on which the latest risk assessment was based and ensure his protection continues.
“His situation is now critical,” the lawyers said. “The threats against him are not merely theoretical: last April, he was assaulted in Lisbon. His revelations implicated powerful individuals with substantial resources, and many of the resulting legal proceedings are still ongoing, as demonstrated by the decision issued just a few days ago by the Premier League’s independent commission concerning Manchester City. Abruptly deprived of his protected residence and placed in a situation of extreme precariousness, Rui Pinto will now be more vulnerable than at any point since 2020.”
Pinto entered Portugal’s protection programme after cooperating with the country’s justice authorities. His revelations have been used by judicial, tax and sporting authorities across Europe, including the Premier League’s investigation into City’s alleged financial irregularities. His lawyers argue the authorities should take into account both his cooperation with the justice system and the continuing risks associated with his disclosures before ending his protection.
“This decision, and the manner in which it was taken, regrettably fail to respect the rule of law and constitute an act of state terrorism. We cannot accept this,” they added.