Swansea ball boy who was kicked by Eden Hazard in 2013 is now has twice the net worth of the former Chelsea star after setting up a vodka business now worth £150M

The ball boy who was infamously kicked by Chelsea star Eden Hazard is now worth a whopping £150 million after launching a vodka business.

Charlie Morgan, now 28, from Swansea, was working as a ball boy for his local club in 2013 when they faced Chelsea in the League Cup semi-final. 

In a blatant attempt to time waste, Charlie held onto the ball instead of giving it back to the then Chelsea star.

But Hazard, then 22, kicked Charlie – who was just  15 at the time – to try and get the ball back and was subsequently sent off. The altercation became a viral sensation – with Charlie putting his jacket up for sale on eBay and becoming the subject of thousands of tweets and think pieces.

Now more than a decade later, Charlie is worth a whopping £150 million – nearly twice Eden’s worth.    

The Swansea-born businessman founded vodka brand Au Vodka with school friend Jackson Quinn in 2015. 

Ten years on, with the company valued at £150 million, the founders have moved the business into very glitzy, ‘fully gold’ offices in their home city.

Charlie, who is said to have built up a personal wealth of £56 million, was included in The Times’ ’40 richest people under 40 in the UK’ in May 2024. 

Hazard, who played for Real Madrid until his 2023 retirement, has a net worth of £78 million, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.  

Now Charlie has moved his company into a fully gold headquarters.

Au Vodka, which sells 35,000 bottles of the premium spirit per day, is now headquartered in premises which not only feature a gold exterior but also boast a gold ceiling, gold café and gold signage – to match its signature gold bottles.

Announcing the move on LinkedIn, Charlie reflected on the brand’s growth, proudly writing: ‘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.’

Celebrities including Brazilian footballing legend Ronaldinho and former American boxer Floyd Mayweather are amongst those who have thrown their weight behind the brand, while fans have congratulated Charlie on the new headquarters, with one praising the businessman for staying ‘true’ by not moving out of Swansea.

And, even Eden Hazard appears to be a fan after the pair reunited this time last year.

The two men put their fraught history behind them, appearing together in a photoshoot to promote Charlie’s vodka.

Hazard posted several photos on his social media accounts, posing with Morgan while holding a glass of blue raspberry Au Vodka.

He wrote on X (formerly Twitter): ‘A nice thing about retirement is catching up with old friends. You have come a long in way in 11 years my friend @charliem0rgan, @auvodka x @hazardeden10.’

Hazard posted several other pictures on his Instagram account, showing the two looking at a chess board that had several bottles of AU Vodka on it. 

They were also seen driving a golf buggy together around a golf course, with Hazard posting a picture of himself lining up a putt as the former Swansea ball boy watched on in the distance. 

His former team-mate John Terry also replied to the Instagram post with three laughing face emojis. 

Since then, the former Swansea ball boy has gone on to become a very successful businessman, founding the alcoholic drinks brand AU Vodka alongside his friend Jackson Quinn in 2016. 

The beverage was at first only sold to local bars in Swansea but the pair have now gone worldwide. Production has increased to over 35,000 units per day, with the brand being recognised by its trademark gold bottles. 

In 2022, he was also named in the Sunday Times’ Rich List, with AU Vodka having been endorsed by well-known stars.

Speaking to WalesOnline back in 2021, Morgan recounted how ‘crazy’ it was to see such big names endorse AU Vodka.

‘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,’ he said. 

‘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.’