CHARLIE MORGAN looked destined to be forever known as the ball boy kicked by Eden Hazard.
So it is quite the revelation when you learn that he now owns a £40million empire.
As a 17-year-old back in 2013, the youngster attempted to waste some time during Swansea’s League Cup semi-final second leg against the Blues.
Working pitchside for the Welsh club, he appeared to shield the ball from Hazard when it went out for a corner.
Chelsea were 2-0 down from the first leg and had just 10 minutes of the return fixture to try and find two goals.
Hazard’s frustration at the state of play and Charlie’s antics led to him kicking the teenager in an attempt to free the ball.
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The Belgian forward was shown a red card for the violent conduct and Swansea went on to knock Chelsea out – before lifting the League Cup thanks to a 5-0 win over Bradford at Wembley.
Less than a decade on, Charlie, now 26, has made a name for himself outside of that bizarre moment with Hazard.
In fact, he is a multi-millionaire with a thriving vodka company worth £40m.
He set up the business – named Au Vodka – in 2016 alongside school friend Jackson Quinn.
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They were steadily increasing their sales but in December 2019 really began to take off when they shifted 10,000 bottles of black grape vodka in a single month.
Now Charlie’s empire has seen him named on the Sunday Times Rich List for 2022.
The young entrepeneur’s father is Martin Morgan – Swansea FC director and owner of Morgan’s Hotel.
But Charlie has certainly made a name for himself – with a host of celebrities pictured endorsing his product.
Among them is ex-footballer Ronaldinho, club owner Wayne Lineker, and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather.
Charlie has even claimed that Mayweather got in contact with the business.
Speaking to WalesOnline in 2021, he said: “We got a contact for Floyd – through a mutual friend of Frost the music producer – and we were told that Floyd absolutely loves the brand and loved the black grape flavour.
“We were asked whether he could have few bottles before he goes home.
“We said yeah, OK sure, and Floyd said he would post a photo on Instagram as long as we included him when we do something big in America.
“Back years ago we were asking ourselves, who would be the best ambassador we could have holding the bottle and I think our answer was Floyd, so it’s amazing how it has manifested itself.
“Seeing the brand in the hands of someone you admire is crazy.”
Au Vodka now produce 35,000 bottles PER DAY, although Morgan has admitted a couple of flavours really did not work out.
The manuka honey and chocolate orange flavours were both discontinued as they did not taste nice, while Charlie himself labelled a banana one “particularly disgusting”.
But that has not stopped the business from continuing to grow.
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That being said, Morgan, now valued at £40m, is still some way off the net worth of Hazard – who he had that famous altercation with all those years ago.
The Real Madrid forward is thought to be worth around £85m, although Morgan’s empire is progressing at a rapid rate so it may not be long before he is battling the ex-Chelsea man once more.
