Who is Rui Pinto? Man City whistleblower no longer a protected witness - talkSPORT
Rui Pinto is a name that has become as synonymous with Manchester City as Sheikh Mansour, Pep Guardiola and Sergio Aguero.
The whistleblower was behind the leaks of private documents that triggered the Premier League investigation into the Etihad outfit.
Over a decade after he created the Football Leaks website, Man City have now been found guilty on all charges of financial breaches.
Enzo Maresca's sidecontinue to protest their innocence but, despite this, Pinto has called the decision ‘historic for English football’.
City's rivals are demanding that any sanctions come into effect this season, and they also face being sued for damages by other clubs.
All of this started with Pinto, who published a cache of confidential club documents on his Football Leaks website a decade ago.
He shared information with German magazine Der Spiegel, which included internal emails about sponsorship deals that have since been called 'sham' in the Premier League's verdict this week.
Who is Rui Pinto?
He's been called 'a great European whistleblower' by his lawyers, but to others he's been accused of harbouring more sinister intentions, having been convicted of attempted extortion in Portugal.
The 37-year-old, who is from Vila Nova de Gaia, near Porto, with FC Porto being the team Pinto supported as he grew up.
His ex-Geography teacher, Mario Falcao, explained to BBC Sport: "Rui was a perfectly normal pupil. He was nice, with his spiky hair; he was quite sociable but not extroverted.
"He...
Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMilAFBVV95cUxOUVFUMjFzU2NEcGpQMDFmWmht...