It’s been 13 years since Charlie Morgan was kicked by Eden Hazard and the former ballboy has since become a business giant
The ballboy who was once infamously kicked by Eden Hazard has gone on to become a multi-millionaire thanks to his blossoming vodka business. Charlie Morgan, 30, hit the headlines in 2013 when he was only a teenager during Chelsea’s League Cup second leg semi-final tie against Swansea, the team he supported.
Working as a ballboy for the Welsh side, it was the Premier League giants chasing the game due to their 2-0 loss in the first leg. With the ball going out of play, Belgian legend Hazard rushed to collect it with less than 15 minutes to play.
However, Morgan held onto the ball in order to kill time. The frustrated Hazard kicked the teenager in an attempt to get the ball from under him and was subsequently handed a red card and a suspension. Hazard later revealed he apologised to Morgan as he said: “The ballboy came in the changing room and we had a quick chat. I apologised and the boy apologised as well, and it is over. Sorry.”
It’s been 13 years since the incident and while Hazard has retired from football, Morgan has become a huge name in his own right due to his burgeoning vodka brand. He founded premium vodka brand AU Vodka in 2015 with his friend, Jackson Quinn, and it has gone on to become one of the most popular spirits on the market.
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Stocked in stores such as Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Tesco, Costco, Sainsbury’s and Asda, the success of the brand catapulted Morgan’s wealth to a staggering £56million. Over 11 years on from founding the company, it’s since been valued at £150m.
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With the business now set up in their home city of Swansea, their headquarters reflect the unique gold bottle of the AU vodka. The premises not only features a gold exterior, but it was kitted out with a gold ceiling, gold café and gold signage.
Morgan took to Linkedin to announce the brand’s growth and move to a bigger facility, as he wrote: “Introducing….. The new Au Vodka HQ. We spent four years in our first office which was only 250 sq ft and only just fit myself, Jackson Quinn and Jordan Major (who was just 16 and packing orders!).
“We spent 5 years in a industrial unit in Swansea, where we grew the business exponentially and the team to 96 people, which we added a new mezzanine floor to house more people four times. Today we’ve moved into our new home – A fully gold HQ which really represents Au and what we stand for.”
The brand has received backing from several high-profile figures in the world of sport, including Brazilian footballing icon Ronaldinho and legendary American boxer Floyd Mayweather.
In 2024, Morgan stunned the internet by reuniting with Hazard with the pair posing for a photo together while holding glasses of the vodka. He took to X to write: “A nice thing about retirement is catching up with old friends. You have come a long in way in 11 years my friend.”
Over a decade on from the kicking incident and Chelsea’s semi-final woes of the cup competition have continued to haunt them. The Blues lost 1-0 against Arsenal at the Emirates on Tuesday, cementing a 4-2 aggregate defeat. It means it’s the Gunners who will head to Wembley for the Carabao Cup final, where they’ll meet Manchester City on March 22.
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