Claiming to want “to show the hidden side of football”, Football Leaks shared millions of documents with media outlets in the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) consortium, a network of investigative journalists.

They included revelations on ‘third-party ownership’, the salaries of Argentina great Lionel Messi and Brazil forward Neymar, undercover talks regarding the creation of the European Super League, and alleged cases of tax evasion by several top footballers.

Paris St-Germain also admitted that scouts had racially profiled young players following an investigation based on documents made available by Football Leaks. The club denied responsibility.

A self-taught computer mastermind, Pinto was arrested in Hungary in 2019 and extradited back to Portugal. Released from custody in August 2020, he has remained under police witness protection because of security concerns.

Pinto insisted his actions were in the public interest, but last year he was convicted on five counts of “illegitimate access” to IT systems and three counts of “correspondence violations”, along with the attempted extortion against the investment fund Doyen Sports. Prosecutors alleged that Pinto sought between £429,400 to £858,800 from the head of Doyen in order to stop publishing compromising documents.

When challenged over the illegality of his client’s activities, Bourdon said: “Of course, he didn’t find all this information in a church… He was very young, he has been naive… he should have been acquitted.

“Football should be grateful to him,” insists Bourdon. “Tax administrations should be grateful to him.”

“I hope that one day someone will shake the hand of Pinto and say ‘thanks to you, you did a tremendous job, and you will deserve a reward… for what you did’.”

Bourdon said Pinto had received death threats, and it was “very difficult for him to face a second trial”.

The lawyer said that Judge Margarida Alves – who presided over Pinto’s first trial – had noted that; “we cannot forget his contribution, his contribution to reveal facts which have been at the origin of main criminal investigations all over Europe… to open the eyes of humanity, of Europe citizens and what’s going on under the magnificent wall of [the] football industry.”

However, she also told the court in Lisbon: “The freedom to inform does not justify violations of privacy.” She added: “The court has no doubt… It has clearly been established that he was hoping to get money.”

In 2023, as a separate trial in Paris, Pinto also received a six-month suspended sentence after admitting to illegally accessing confidential information on PSG.