Man City whistleblower Rui Pinto to leave Portugal over safety fears

Rui Pinto, the whistleblower whose leaks led to Manchester City facing 115 Premier League charges, says he is preparing to leave Portugal because he fears for his safety.

Pinto said Portuguese authorities told him on 30 September 2026 that his place in the country’s witness protection programme would end. That meant the loss of his police protection. He entered the programme after cooperating with Portugal’s justice authorities, The Guardian reported.

The timing is stark. The decision came two days after City were found guilty of the 115 charges. The Premier League’s investigation, which centred on alleged breaches of its financial rules, was prompted by Pinto’s leak of thousands of private documents.

Pinto said he has received multiple death threats. He said he faces a serious risk of an assassination attempt.

His lawyers said he was assaulted in Lisbon last April. They said ending his protection would leave him more vulnerable than at any point since 2020. He has been advised not to return home and not to contact family members, according to earlier reporting.

Protection is scheduled to be removed on 10 October 2026, The Athletic reported. Pinto said he will relocate within the next few days to an undisclosed location. He expects to stay there for an indefinite period.

His lawyers confirmed they will appeal. They have asked Portugal’s Ministry of Justice to reconsider the decision, to disclose the material behind its latest risk assessment, and to keep his protection in place. Portuguese authorities had deemed the threats against him to be low risk, The Telegraph reported.

Pinto said he has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help him survive after protection ends. The target was set at €3m (£2.55m). It had received €4,000 in the first half-hour after posting.

For fans, this means the man at the start of one of English football’s longest legal sagas now says he feels unsafe in his own country. The football case has been decided. His fight to stay protected is still running.