Portuguese hacker Rui Pinto directed some extraordinary allegations at FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Wednesday night, accusing Infantino of actively covering up financial breaches involving both Manchester City and PSG during his time as UEFA General Secretary from 2009 to 2016.
During Infantino's tenure in 2014, City and PSG were both handed fines worth tens of millions of Euros by UEFA for Financial Fair Play (FFP) breaches and agreed to limit their wage bills over the two successive years as part of a plea bargain to avoid a potential ban from the 2014/15 edition of the Champions League.
Pinto launched his 'Football Leaks' platform in September 2015 to uncover what he described as "murky" and potentially illegal financial agreements involving several major football clubs and world famous players, working in tandem with investigative journalists and globally recognised news outlets to publish multiple potentially scandalous financial arrangements.
It was a Football Leaks publication in 2018 that eventually led to the Premier League's investigation into Manchester City that resulted in a guilty finding on all 115 charges related to widespread and systemic financial fraud between 2009 and 2018.
Pinto, who in September 2023 was handed a four-year suspended prison sentence by Portuguese authorities for attempted extortion and illegal access to data, accused Infantino of "abusing his power" and undermining UEFA's independent investigatory body during the period preceding the massive fines handed to City and PSG in 2014.
According to Pinto, Infantino "shared confidential documents" and "did everything in his power to ensure that both Manchester City and PSG would merely receive a fine, avoiding a deeper investigation that could have led to a Champions League ban".
"Given his actions as UEFA General Secretary and, more recently, as FIFA President, I can only say, in my humble opinion, that Gianni Infantino has become a cancer on football and should have no place in the future of the game," he added in a post on X.
Flashscore is not suggesting Infantino, who is running for re-election as FIFA President in March 2027 in the face of rising discontent with his current term, is guilty of any wrongdoing during his time as UEFA General Secretary.
Manchester City's owners have vowed to vehemently appeal the findings and exhaust all avenues in pursuit of clearing their names, with the club facing a whole range of sanctions from enormous fines to points deductions and potentially even the voiding of their three Premier Leagues, three League Cups, one FA Cup and one Community Shield title won during the period of their alleged offending.