Chelsea star kicked a ball boy: Now he's worth $135m

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FT Desk

It's the middle of January, 13 years ago. Eden Hazard has been sent off in a League Cup fixture between Chelsea and Swansea for appearing to kick a ball boy.

It's an incident that made headlines around the world.

The ball boy, Charlie Morgan, had deliberately looked to waste time by lying on top of the ball near a pitchside billboard. Hazard tried to get the ball back by kicking it from underneath Morgan, but his foot hit the ball boy as well.

The referee gave the Belgian a red card for violent conduct. Hazard later apologised and said he was only trying to get the ball, as Chelsea were later eliminated on aggregate following a 0-0 draw.

Morgan also apologised for wasting time, and the two later made peace.

For a while, he became the most famous ball boy in world football before the situation eventually blew over.

But, as Morgan got older, he hit headlines again after creating a successful vodka brand, AU Vodka.

In 2015, he established the brand with his friend Jackson Quinn and it's popularity grew and grew to the point where its worth hit £150 million.

However, that worth is set to skyrocket as AU vodka is on the cusp of being sold to American drinks conglomerate Sazerac Company, which already owns brands including BuzzBallz and Southern Comfort. The deal could be for as much as £500m ($677m).

Should the deal go through, Morgan and Quinn are set to pocket £100m ($135m) each.

In 2017, Radio 1 DJ Charlie Sloth acquired a 20% stake in AU Vodka after being approached by Morgan and his partner, with his network of celebrity contacts credited with enhancing the brand's profile. Ronaldinho, Floyd Mayweather and Jake Paul are just some of the celebrities who have endorsed the product over the years.

Eden Hazard ‘What really happened?‘ - Unfiltered Interview With Ballboy Charlie Morgan!

Full Interview Now Live 👇🏼https://t.co/E7ZbbsDi9V pic.twitter.com/MfFFQ3tHcw

— Au Vodka (@AuVodka) January 29, 2024

In 2024, Hazard and Morgan reunited as the former footballer wrote on X:

"A nice thing about retirement is catching up with old friends. You have come a long in way in 11 years my friend."

Four years ago, Morgan spoke about a desire to take the company Global, telling Wales Online:

“The vision is for Au Vodka to become a truly global brand, known in an instant for its unique gold branding and coloured liquids, we see the bottles being stocked on shelves internationally and becoming accessible for customers in every corner of the world. We also want to ensure we continue to dominate the UK Vodka market, keeping a tight grip on where we started to ensure the brand is true to its roots, there’s always room for more growth everywhere.”

Charlie Morgan’s dad is Martin Morgan, a wealthy Welsh businessman and former Swansea City director. He made much of his fortune through the travel industry and later through hotels and property. At the time of the Hazard incident, Martin was a significant shareholder and director at Swansea City and was reportedly worth around £42m ($56m) according to the Independent.