Rui Pinto renews Infantino allegations after Manchester City verdict

Football Leaks founder Rui Pinto has renewed allegations about Gianni Infantino’s involvement in financial fair play cases concerning Manchester City and Paris St-Germain, following the Premier League verdict against City. BBC Sport reported that Pinto used a statement on X on Wednesday to challenge the FIFA president’s conduct while he was UEFA general secretary.

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The statement followed findings that City breached Premier League financial rules over a nine-year period. According to the BBC, the club continues to deny wrongdoing and has until 2 October to submit an appeal. The Premier League investigation followed material released through Football Leaks and German publication Der Spiegel in 2018, as well as a separate UEFA investigation.

Pinto’s latest comments return to allegations first made public in 2018, rather than announcing a new finding against Infantino. Der Spiegel reported that City and PSG had overvalued sponsorship agreements to meet financial fair play requirements. Documents cited in that reporting alleged that Infantino helped arrange more lenient penalties in 2014 when the clubs faced sanctions over those matters.

In his new statement, Pinto accused Infantino of sharing confidential documents and intervening to limit the clubs’ punishment to fines, avoiding a deeper investigation that could have resulted in a Champions League ban. These remain allegations attributed to Pinto. BBC Sport said it had contacted FIFA following his latest comments; the report did not include a new FIFA response to that statement.

UEFA’s response when the allegations originally emerged was that assisting with such matters fell within the general secretary’s responsibilities. It said those duties could involve meetings, discussions and help in finding solutions for the investigating body. Infantino also defended his role at the time, saying conversations and exchanges of documents formed part of his professional work.

PSG rejected the allegations in its response at the time, maintaining that it had complied with the rules and laws set by sporting institutions. The club also pointed to the extensive scrutiny of its finances since financial fair play was introduced. Those denials form part of the background to the claims Pinto has now repeated.

The dispute comes as Infantino faces a separate challenge over FIFA governance. The BBC reported that the Swiss Football Association had withdrawn its support following a reassessment of recent developments. Infantino is due to stand for election for a fourth time in March 2027, with opponents having until 18 November to identify an alternative candidate.