IT is sunny and a pleasantly warm 20C in Malaga even in early November. “And what is it like in Scotland? Freezing and raining as always?” asks Javier Sanchez Broto with a chuckle.

It is said with affection rather than mocking, however. More than 15 years have passed since the former goalkeeper left Celtic to return home to Spain but he still recalls that time in his life with great fondness.

From being part of Celtic’s run to the Uefa Cup final, helping Livingston into the Premier League and then into Europe, and winning the Challenge Cup with Airdrie, he crammed a lot into a three-year stay.

Most significantly, it was to a backdrop of a gloomy Scottish winter that his booming business empire was founded.

Returning from training most days to overcast skies and sinking temperatures, Sanchez Broto turned his thoughts to more uplifting matters.

Spotting a gap in the market for bespoke goalkeeping equipment, he opened his first store in Zaragoza called Solo Porteros (Only Goalkeepers) with the help of his father and brother back home in Spain. It has grown to become a huge success. In 2016 the business expanded from only serving goalkeepers to selling all aspects of football merchandise, the company name changing in the process. Futbol Emotion is now the third-biggest online sports retailer in Europe, with 23 stores throughout Spain and Portugal, and plans in place for outlets in Dortmund, Milan and London.

The prospect of a franchise opening up in Glasgow or Edinburgh isn’t too far away either, something that would be like a homecoming of sorts given this is where it all began.

“It was raining all the time in Scotland so I had to focus my mind in another way,” explains Sanchez Broto. “When I was younger, and even when I was a professional, I felt that there wasn’t always the right equipment for goalkeepers. I thought maybe we could help other goalkeepers who felt the same way.

“So, with my father and brother, I started a company for goalkeepers. It was just one store in Zaragoza and we sold boots and gloves. Now our company is global.

“It is a little bit of a surprise even to me how fast is has grown. But this was always in my head. When I was in Scotland I had time to think about what I would maybe do when I stopped playing. Football has always been my life so I wanted to work in something that I knew and that I loved. And that is why I started this business.”

It is not all about sales, however. With the help of many of Spain’s leading goalkeepers and goalkeeping coaches, Futbol Emotion stage regular training camps throughout the country. One particularly innovative event – Search for The Goalkeeper of the Future - rewards the best performer from thousands of aspiring entrants with a professional contract. Sanchez Broto thinks Scottish clubs could benefit from it, too.

“We run a competition every year that is like X Factor but for football,” explains the Simon Cowell of the piece. “We have maybe 5000 players come to it and at the end the winner gets a contract with a professional team.

“We have so many very good goalkeepers and the best one is usually signed by a La Liga club. But there is no reason why we can’t send another one to Scotland. If any Scottish clubs need a new goalkeeper they can come along or they can just contact me for advice.

“I want to help as many goalies as I can. That was always my idea and my dream. If you can show young goalkeepers the best way to be a professional, and after that 100 of them go to top teams like Barcelona, Zaragoza, Valencia, and Atletico Madrid then this is like another trophy for me. This one is not a trophy on my desk, but a trophy in my heart.”

Sanchez Broto, now 47, still returns regularly to Scotland with friends and family. He only spent six months as a player with Celtic but it remains a career highlight.

“I played for some big clubs in Spain but nothing compares to Celtic,” he adds. “That season was special, when the team went to the Uefa Cup final.

“I still have pictures of Celtic Park at home and it is always in my memory. Maybe I could have stayed longer at Celtic but I came back to La Liga to spend more time with my family. But Celtic will always be one of my favourite teams for life.”

The two years spent at Livingston are also ingrained in his memory. “It was a small team but like a big family. We won the championship there and got to play in the Uefa Cup, too. That was something incredible. I am glad to hear they are doing well again this year. One day I would like to go back there again to see the stadium.”

He remains a fervent ambassador for the Scottish game and shamelessly nostalgic for the country as a whole.

“When I came back from Scotland I played again in La Liga and said many times to the other players at Getafe and Murcia that I enjoyed it more in Scotland. The level was below the level in Spain but there was a good atmosphere, the supporters were great and I just loved my time there.

“Scotland is a big part of my life and I have been back to visit with family and friends many times now. I always think about it.”