Football Leaks Founder Rui Pinto in Talks With UK Authorities

Rui Pinto, the founder of Football Leaks, is in talks with British authorities about a deal that could see him help expose serious financial and sporting crime in the UK.

William Bourdon, Pinto's lawyer, has confirmed to the Guardian that contact with British authorities has been made and that the process is under way. Bourdon has also represented whistleblowers including Edward Snowden and Julian Assange.

A whistleblower is someone who passes on information about wrongdoing, often at real personal risk. Football Leaks was the project that brought large volumes of private football documents into public view. Between 2015 and 2019, Pinto collected tens of millions of files containing sensitive information.

The UK's Serious Fraud Office, the agency that investigates serious financial crime, has been in contact with him. It emerged that Pinto was willing to assist British investigators in return for protection.

Some of his material has already had a major effect on the game. Documents he collected and leaked became relevant to the Premier League's investigation into Manchester City, which ended with the club being found in breach of the league's financial rules.

Pinto's position is complicated. He was arrested by Portuguese police in Hungary in January 2019. French authorities travelled to Budapest and copied the contents of electronic devices in his possession before he was extradited to Portugal. Those files are now in French hands, and French authorities previously tried to bring him into a witness protection programme.

Pinto was also protected by Portuguese authorities for six years. On 30 September, he was told that this protection would end.

For football fans, the story is about more than one club or one investigation. It is about how the money and rules of the sport get checked at all. The talks are at an early stage, and no agreement has been announced.