Manchester City's long-running battle with football's authorities has a shadowy origin story, and BBC Sport travelled to Portugal to piece it together.
At the centre of it is Rui Pinto, the computer hacker whose leaked documents, published via Football Leaks, first sparked scrutiny into City's financial dealings and eventually fed into UEFA's investigation. The Portuguese businessman remains a divisive figure — hailed by some as a whistleblower exposing wrongdoing in the game's murky finances, and pursued by others, including the club themselves, as a criminal who obtained sensitive material illegally.
According to BBC Sport, Pinto's leaks played a significant role in triggering the chain of events that led to City facing accusations over breaches of financial regulations, allegations the club deny and continue to contest. The report doesn't detail the full outcome of any legal proceedings against Pinto, but frames him as a pivotal, controversial figure whose actions rippled far beyond his own case — reshaping how football's finances have been examined at the highest level.
His story remains a reminder of how leaked data, not official audits, first put City's finances under the microscope.