Post by bluetornados on Jan 23, 2023 15:30:47 GMT
It’s exactly 10 years since Eden Hazard kicked Swansea ball boy, whose life is now very different..
The bizarre incident, which occurred during a League Cup clash at the Liberty Stadium in January 2013, resulted in a straight red card for the former Chelsea star.
Aged just 22 at the time, Hazard suddenly found himself on the front and back pages of the UK’s newspapers for all the wrong reasons.
The Belgium international, who’d joined Chelsea in a £32 million deal from French club Lille months earlier, tried to explain himself after the match – which the Blues lost 2-0 on aggregate.
“The boy put his whole body on to the ball and I was just trying to kick the ball,” Hazard said at the time. “I think I kicked the ball and not the boy. I apologise.”
Who is the Swansea ball boy that Eden Hazard kicked?
It soon emerged that the ballboy was a lad called Charlie Morgan, the 17-year-old son of Swansea director Martin Morgan – owner of the Morgans Hotel and worth a reported £65 million, according to a report in The Sun.
Charlie confirmed via Twitter that he wouldn’t be pressing charges against Hazard, as his social media following rocketed from 600 to 100,000.
Several media outlets soon cottoned on that Charlie was living an ‘enviable lifestyle’ involving luxury holidays and flash cars.
What does the former Swansea City ball boy do now?
Although Charlie’s story is hardly a rags to riches tale, he’s certainly been on some adventure since the Hazard incident – and is now well and truly living the high life.
Three years after his clash with the Chelsea legend, Charlie fulfilled his dream of setting up his own business after spotting a gap in the alcohol market.
Together with his friend Jackson Quinn, they created Au Vodka – which went from a one-time limited run of 2,000 bottles sold in local bars in Swansea to manufacturing 35,000 bottles daily over the past six years.
The popular drink is sold at various stores in the UK including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda.
Au Vodka, who also have British DJ Charlie Sloth on the team, also went international and can be purchased in 40 countries around the world, including Australia, Spain, the United States and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Various celebrities have been pictured with a bottle of Au Vodka in recent years, including boxing icon Floyd Mayweather.
Charlie Morgan entered The Times’ Young Rich List in 2022
And in August 2022, Charlie was named on The Times’ Young Rich List as the company’s turnover grew from £800,000 to a staggering £38.5 million.
“It’s almost hard to take a moment to reflect when we have the next big project coming up and there is always something new we’re working on,” he said, per Wales Online. “But, looking back on how far we have come, it’s been such an immense journey with plenty of milestones hit and definitely so much more to come.”
Who knows, maybe one day we’ll see Hazard himself holding a bottle of Au Vodka.
The bizarre incident, which occurred during a League Cup clash at the Liberty Stadium in January 2013, resulted in a straight red card for the former Chelsea star.
Aged just 22 at the time, Hazard suddenly found himself on the front and back pages of the UK’s newspapers for all the wrong reasons.
The Belgium international, who’d joined Chelsea in a £32 million deal from French club Lille months earlier, tried to explain himself after the match – which the Blues lost 2-0 on aggregate.
“The boy put his whole body on to the ball and I was just trying to kick the ball,” Hazard said at the time. “I think I kicked the ball and not the boy. I apologise.”
Who is the Swansea ball boy that Eden Hazard kicked?
It soon emerged that the ballboy was a lad called Charlie Morgan, the 17-year-old son of Swansea director Martin Morgan – owner of the Morgans Hotel and worth a reported £65 million, according to a report in The Sun.
Charlie confirmed via Twitter that he wouldn’t be pressing charges against Hazard, as his social media following rocketed from 600 to 100,000.
Several media outlets soon cottoned on that Charlie was living an ‘enviable lifestyle’ involving luxury holidays and flash cars.
What does the former Swansea City ball boy do now?
Although Charlie’s story is hardly a rags to riches tale, he’s certainly been on some adventure since the Hazard incident – and is now well and truly living the high life.
Three years after his clash with the Chelsea legend, Charlie fulfilled his dream of setting up his own business after spotting a gap in the alcohol market.
Together with his friend Jackson Quinn, they created Au Vodka – which went from a one-time limited run of 2,000 bottles sold in local bars in Swansea to manufacturing 35,000 bottles daily over the past six years.
The popular drink is sold at various stores in the UK including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda.
Au Vodka, who also have British DJ Charlie Sloth on the team, also went international and can be purchased in 40 countries around the world, including Australia, Spain, the United States and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Various celebrities have been pictured with a bottle of Au Vodka in recent years, including boxing icon Floyd Mayweather.
Charlie Morgan entered The Times’ Young Rich List in 2022
And in August 2022, Charlie was named on The Times’ Young Rich List as the company’s turnover grew from £800,000 to a staggering £38.5 million.
“It’s almost hard to take a moment to reflect when we have the next big project coming up and there is always something new we’re working on,” he said, per Wales Online. “But, looking back on how far we have come, it’s been such an immense journey with plenty of milestones hit and definitely so much more to come.”
Who knows, maybe one day we’ll see Hazard himself holding a bottle of Au Vodka.