ARCHIBALD’S ENERGY CRISIS
Scottish football legend ‘optimistic’ as his David v Goliath legal battle against billion-dollar firm nears end
FOOTBALL legend Steve Archibald has told of his “optimism” as he waits to learn the outcome of his court battle against a billiondollar energy firm.
The ex-Scotland striker has been on a David versus Goliath quest for justice for more than two years after claiming he was the victim of an “abusive” hostile takeover which forced him out of the Spanish energy firm he built.
Archibald’s battle with energy giant Nexus Energia hit Barcelona’s civil courts last year and – after months of hearings, racking up huge lawyers’ bills – he is awaiting the judge’s decision.
He told the Record how he hopes to be compensated for financial and personal strain, saying it shattered his goal to make football more sustainable.
He said: “I don’t know how the judge can compensate me for what I did with the company which was growing exponentially. But I continue to work away every day and I just have to wait patiently until the judge comes through with a decision, then move one way or another.
“It’s been a couple of years and it’s been pretty expensive. But I’ve been fully committed to it.
“I am optimistic because I believe everything I’ve done is right and believe what they’ve done is wrong and against the law. It’s just a question of patience now.”
Archibald, who played for Aberdeen, Spurs and took over Diego Maradona’s No10 shirt at Barcelona, launched renewable energy firm FC Energia there in 2018, aiming to link the sector with football clubs.
The 67-year-old partnered with
Madrid’s Nexus Energia, which has reported annual revenues of more than $1.1billion (£900million), and says he was instrumental in bringing thousands of clients on board. The Glaswegian had set out to create a “fair” green energy firm and formed collaborations with several La Liga teams, including Atletico Madrid, Sevilla and Valencia. But the Spanish football pundit says he was ditched as CEO and could only watch helplessly as his 50 per cent shareholding in the company was slashed to almost nothing. Archibald, who won 27 caps for his country, says Nexus chiefs first told him they wanted him to leave the business in 2020 and a former partner who had previously been voted out was brought back in, cementing his own removal as CEO.
The businessman first revealed he was suing Nexus in 2021, saying he’d been subjected to “vile and brutal” treatment.
A year later, Nexus announced FC Energia was being “unified” with the overall brand and becoming part of the group.
It said: “We decided we had to move forward together, being all Nexus.”
Archibald said the true value of what he had lost is hard to calculate. He added: “I can only assume there will be a financial decision for costs and compensation for stealing my part of the company.
“When I left the company I left it with 10,000 new clients.
“I can’t get the company back because Nexus have absorbed it and taken all the clients into their own company.
“But there are lots of different consequences from this. Climate change is more than just a problem right now. When we saw what was happening with the world in terms of climate change it got into my head that this wasn’t just business.
“The company was moving people towards sustainable energy and I was trying to tie that in with football globally, all clubs, as they use a huge amount of energy in their daily business.
“My efforts were focused on working on that but they’ve taken that away too.
“My life still goes on and I’m going forward with lots of different things. I can start a new company with a new partner, a renewable energy provider.
“I’ve spoken to a couple of people and I’d love to continue what I started.
“They’re a big company and I’m just a little guy who was knocked aside. In my mind, totally illegally.
“I’ve just done my best to fight it and do the right thing.”
Nexus Energia was approached for comment.