Ball boy who was kicked by Premier League star is now worth £55 million
Many ball boys hope to go to a game, be pitchside near their idols, get a thumbs-up from them, and then go home.
But this ex-ball boy got a lot more than that after featuring in a League Cup semi-final between Swansea and Chelsea more than ten years ago.
Charlie Morgan was a ball boy for boyhood football club Swansea City in 2013 in their face-off against Chelsea, with a berth in the League Cup final at stake.
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With the Swans protecting a 2-0 lead from the first leg going into the game, they were just 90 minutes away from the biggest game in the club's history.
Ten minutes from time, with the score at 0-0, Morgan retrieved the ball for a home side goal kick, purposely taking his time and laying on the ball before Chelsea's Eden Hazard angrily kicked the 17-year-old for time-wasting - of which he later apologised for.
Talk about provoking the enemy, eh?
Hazard was sent off as Swansea went to the final and won their most prestigious title.
But what about the famous ball boy now?
Well, Charlie Morgan has had a spectacular upturn in fortunes following this incident - though indirectly helping your team win its biggest title isn't bad for starters.
Morgan founded Au Vodka, a multi-million-pound business that manufactures luxury vodka in golden metal bottles.
The business's success has earned the 27-year-old a place on Forbes' 35 under 35 list.
Along with business partner Jackson Quinn, the pair started Au Vodka to make 'a gold bottle', which they felt was 'completely different'.
Morgan's father is still a director at Swansea, but he has truly made a name for himself through this business.
It has since expanded to be worth over £40 million, with various flavours available and a range of celebrities signing on as ambassadors for the company, including Floyd Mayweather Jr., Charlie Sloth, Ronaldinho, and Tion Wayne.
Speaking in 2021, Morgan said that he and Quinn were best friends in school and noticed a gap in the vodka market, which inspired them to start Au.
He said about the business's success: "The growth has been just phenomenal. There are so many people in the world who are involved in it now, which is exciting.
"We thought we could do well, but it's probably gone bigger than we thought we could do already."
What a life so far, from angering one of football's best players en route to a trophy for your team to owning a successful company.
Who saw that coming?
Topics: Football, Sport, Money, Food And Drink
Joshua Nair