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10th October 2023
04:38pm BST
The Swansea City ball boy who was infamously kicked by Eden Hazard is now reportedly worth £55m.
Charlie Morgan is behind Au Vodka, a premium brand of vodka that has become famed for its golden bottles.
Back in 2013, in a League Cup semi-final second leg between Swansea and Chelsea, he made national headlines after Eden Hazard was sent off for kicking him as a 17-year-old ball boy.
Swansea were leading 2-0 from the first leg and Morgan tried to hold on to the ball in the 80th minute. Hazard, in a desperate attempt to retrieve the ball, he inadvertently kicked the youngster, who proceeded to roll around holding his ribs.
The Belgian star, in just his first season at Chelsea, was given a straight red for his actions and received a three-game ban.
He did, however, apologise for his behaviour, saying: "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."
The incident helped Morgan develop a bit of a following online and saw his Twitter followers increase to 100,000.
At the time, Morgan, the son of Swansea City's biggest shareholders Martin and Louisa, was studying for his A-levels.
Fast forward ten years and he and his schoolfriend Jackson Quinn had set up Au Vodka.
The brand, with its trademark gold bottles in seven different flavours, has gone on to provide service to the likes of Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Tesco and Costco, while Sainsbury's and Asda will soon stock the product.
To begin with, they produced 2,000 bottles a day locally to bars in Swansea but the remarkable growth of the company has seen that figure increase to 35,000 bottles per day and Au is available in 40 countries across the globe.
The Spirits Business named was named as the popular vodka brand on the internet and The Times named Au as the company to watch out for in 2023 last year. They now have 50 staff at their headquarters, as well as a massive 630,000 plus followers on social media.
On the 'Rich list', both Charlie and Jackson were placed in 24th place and the next target for the pair is to crack America after penning a deal with Total Wine Liquor.
As per Wales Online, Morgan said: “The coming year, our focus is really on smashing into the American market. We have recently launched our E-commerce platform covering 31 states across the US so customers are already able to get our products delivered straight to their door. Having had over 28,000 sign-ups to the USA website prior to launch we’re expecting that there will be a huge interest in Au Vodka within the states.
"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."
Hazard meanwhile confirmed his retirement from football on Tuesday after over 16 years at the elite level of the game.
The 32-year-old struggled for form during his time at the 14-time European champions but his spell at Chelsea earned himself a place in Premier League folklore.
He posted a statement saying: “During my career, I was lucky to meet great managers, coaches and teammates – thank you to everyone for these great times, I will miss you all.
"I also want to thank the clubs I have played for: LOSC, Chelsea and Real Madrid; and thank the RBFA for my Belgian selection.
"A special thank you to my family, my friends, my advisors and the people who have been close to me in good times and bad.
"Finally, a huge thank you to you, my fans, who have followed me for all these years and for your encouragement everywhere I have played.
"Now is the time to enjoy my loved ones and have new experiences. See you off the field soon my friends."
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