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.
Portuguese whistleblower and founder of "Football Leaks" Rui Pinto (L) speaks with his lawyer William Bourdon (R) during a meeting with journalists, in Paris on February 1, 20246
Local journalist Miguel Dantas claimed only his lawyer William Bourdon (R) and maybe his father have direct communication with Rui Pinto right now
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.
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"He had a good relationship with the teachers, although he did miss these classes quite often. His father was always on top of things, so in the end he passed quite easily."
Khaldoon Al-Mubarak and Ferran Soriano6
Man City continue to plead their innocence with CEO Ferran Soriano (right) claiming the charges are a 'Premier League conspiracy theory'
Pinto's father, Francisco, worked in a shoe factory and as an antiques dealer, while his mother sadly died when he was 11.
He undertook a history degree at his hometown university; however, he never finished the degree — and had no formal IT qualifications.
Pinto set up Football Leaks in 2015 to expose 'the hidden side of football' (his words) and was initially known by the pseudonym 'John'.
Portuguese journalist Antonio Varela was the first person contacted by Pinto, under the cover of his online identity, while he was working at the Portuguese sports newspaper Record that September.
"We realised that [Football Leaks] got the information illegally. But since the moment they publish the information on the site, that's public information," said Varela to the Beeb.
"You can't ignore that. Ethically, it's complicated, but the public interest is more relevant than the ethical issue. That was the conclusion."
Khaldoon Al Mubarak and Pep Guardiola with the Premier League trophy6
City won three Premier League titles during the nine-year period in which their offences took place
How did Football Leaks target Man City?
Pinto's early work on the website targeted two of the biggest clubs in his home country, Benfica, and his own beloved team, Porto.
Tales then emerged of bizarre clauses in players’ contracts - from Liverpool's anti-Arsenal proviso that was inserted in Roberto Firmino’s first deal, to Real Madrid playing down the figures behind Gareth Bale's move from Tottenham to preserve Cristiano Ronaldo’s status as the world’s most expensive player.
Football Leaks were also at the centre of Ronaldo's £16.5million fine and suspended jail sentence due to a tax fraud case in Spain.
The revelations soon became even more shocking once Pinto agreed to meet journalist Rafael Buschmann from Der Spiegel.
He supplied the German magazine and its partners in the European Investigative Collaborations group with more than 70million documents relating to football business.
In 2018, stories emerged of Bayern Munich's plot to start a breakaway European Super League; of City and Paris Saint-Germain’s failure to comply with financial fair play; and of a rape allegation against Ronaldo - who has always denied the claims and had a civil case against him thrown out of court in 2022.
UEFA launched an investigation into City following the release of Pinto's documents and initially banned the club from European competitions for two years.
Cristiano Ronaldo looks on before Portugal's match against Norway6
Ronaldo denied Kathryn Mayorga's allegations, which were publicised by Der Spiegel, and has never been charged by police
That ruling was overturned on appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2020, as much of the case was 'time-barred'.
The Premier League had started its own investigation into possible rule-breaking in December 2018, and their independent charges were confirmed three years ago.
Rui Pinto no longer a protected witness
Miguel Dantas joined talkSPORT to react to the news that Pinto will no longer be protected as a witness by the Portuguese authorities.
On whether his compatriot is viewed as a hero or criminal, the local journalist told White & Jordan: "Rui is a divisive figure because a lot of people see him as a criminal, but then some other factions of people see him as a whistleblower.
"And I think it's important for us to realise that there wouldn't be a Manchester City financial scandal if he hadn't leaked the documents.
"I think it's important also to state that the timing behind this decision made by the Portuguese authorities is a little unbelievable because Rui Pinto has had witness protection for the past six years.
"But now, in the midst of the scandal that's now blowing up, that's when they decide to take the witness protection away from Rui.
"And he was assaulted in April, just a couple of months ago in Lisbon.
"He was punched, and the Portuguese police say that there's no security risk for Rui, which I can't really comprehend."
Football Leaks whistleblower Rui Pinto (C) is escorted by judicial officers as he arrives at the Metropolitan Court in Budapest, Hungary, for his trial on March 5, 2019. - The court is set to decide on the extradition of the Portuguese hacker linked to the Football Leaks whistleblower website that has exposed alleged corruption, sparking investigations in several European countries6
Football Leaks whistleblower Rui Pinto (C) is escorted by judicial officers as he arrives at the Metropolitan Court in Budapest, Hungary, for his trial on March 5, 2019. - The court is set to decide on the extradition of the Portuguese hacker linked to the Football Leaks whistleblower website that has exposed alleged corruption, sparking investigations in several European countries
Dantas, who covered both of Pinto's court cases in Portugal, has confirmed the hacktivist's location remains a secret.
"In six years, there were two times he was seen in public," he added on talkSPORT.
"Once in a supermarket, surrounded by Portuguese officers, the police officers. And another time when he went for a night out."
"Access to him is really, really hard to obtain," Dantas continued. "Impossible for me, I'll tell you. But only his lawyer and maybe his father have direct communication with him."
'His contributions far outweigh the errors of his past'
What Pinto said in court was that, as a football fan, he wanted other supporters to be aware of what was happening behind closed doors.
Asked whether he believes in that motivation, Dantas replied: "Well, I think that, and he said it himself, in the first couple of months, there was a window of opportunity that he could make money with some of those leaked documents that he hacked. And he tried.
Football Leaks whistleblower Rui Pinto (R) is escorted by a judicial officer as he arrives at the Metropolitan Court in Budapest, Hungary, for his trial on March 5, 2019. - The court is set to decide on the extradition of the Portuguese hacker linked to the Football Leaks whistleblower website that has exposed alleged corruption, sparking investigations in several European countries.6
Football Leaks whistleblower Rui Pinto (R) is escorted by a judicial officer as he arrives at the Metropolitan Court in Budapest, Hungary, for his trial on March 5, 2019. - The court is set to decide on the extradition of the Portuguese hacker linked to the Football Leaks whistleblower website that has exposed alleged corruption, sparking investigations in several European countries.
"He admitted that he tried to do it, but then after a certain thing, there was a switch that lit up, and after that, I am sure that he became a full-on whistleblower.
"He made some errors in the past; there's no denying it. He admitted them. He never made one euro out of the leaked documents.
"There was never any money that he received. But you have to look at what he brought to the world - all the PSG, Manchester City, in Portugal there were a lot of investigations as well - tax evasion from the biggest football players in the world.
"I think that if you weigh the two things, I think that his contributions far outweigh the errors of his past."