Millionaire ball boy who Hazard booted has net worth almost half of Hazard
The ball boy Eden Hazard infamously booted back in the day is now a globe-trotting entrepreneur with a £40m vodka empire.
Charlie Morgan made national headlines on this day (23 January) in 2013 after some underhanded time-wasting trickery went a bit awry during Chelsea’s League Cup semi-final defeat to Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.
When Charlie, then 17, intentionally belly-flopped on the ball to foil Hazard’s attempt to restart play, the Belgian decided to try and kick it out from underneath the teenager – and was sent off for his troubles.
The enterprising youngster, who joked on Twitter before the game that he was “needed for time wasting”, demonstrated a brashness that day that he’ll have likely put to good use in his burgeoning entrepreneurial career.
Who has had more success since the kicking incident in 2013, Eden Hazard or Charlie Morgan?
Granted, his millionaire dad Martin Morgan – owner of Morgan’s Hotel and director at Swansea City – gave him a big helping hand financially, but Charlie’s AU Vodka brand is now one of the biggest in the world.
They currently sell around 35,00 bottles every single day and count sporting legends Ronaldinho and Floyd Mayweather as regular clients, with their flashy gold bottles and eye-catching flavours earning millions of customers around the world.
As such, Charlie’s net worth is estimated to be around £40m, roughly half that of Hazard’s (£85m), but given the success and rapid growth of his business, and the fact that Hazard’s peak earning years are almost certainly behind him, it might not be long before the Welshman catches his old foe up.
Despite the red card, Hazard’s first season in English football was a roaring success. He scored 13 goals in all competitions and helped Chelsea seal their first Europa League triumph.
Two years later he won the PFA Player of the Year as the Blues were crowned Premier League champions, and they repeated the feat in 2017.
In 2019 he sealed a £100m move to Real Madrid, having netted 110 goals in 352 games for Chelsea, though a glut of brutal injuries have turned his stint in Spain into a nightmare.
