Kicked by Hazard, Now Cashing In: Ball-Boy's Au Vodka Empire Set for £500m Windfall

Remember the ball-boy Eden Hazard kicked? Yeah, he's not just fine — he's about to be seriously rich.

Thirteen years after that infamous flashpoint at Swansea City, Charlie Morgan is reportedly cashing out big time. According to Sky News, the drinks brand he co-founded, Au Vodka, is on the brink of a £500m sale to Sazerac — the global spirits giant behind BuzzBallz and Southern Comfort.

From ball-boy to businessman

For those who need a refresher: back in 2013, Morgan was a ball-boy doing ball-boy things when Hazard, then at Chelsea, tried to retrieve the ball quickly and ended up kicking him. Chaos followed. Hazard was sent off and later apologised, saying: "The boy put his whole body on to the ball and I was just trying to kick the ball. I think I kicked the ball and not the boy. I apologise."

Morgan clearly didn't hold a grudge for long. Two years after the dust-up, he and business partner Jackson Quinn founded Au Vodka — and the brand exploded. Its signature gold bottles became impossible to miss, and the marketing machine went into overdrive. Radio DJ Charlie Sloth came on board as an investor, and Jake Paul once faked tattooing the Au logo on himself as an internet gag.

The big sale

Sazerac confirmed the deal in a statement to ESPN, saying: "Sazerac, a leading global spirits company, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Au Vodka, a UK-based vodka & RTD brand. ... The transaction is subject to customary completion conditions and completion is anticipated within weeks. Terms of the transaction will not be disclosed."

So no official word on the price tag. But if the reported £500m figure is anywhere close, the bloke who once got booted by a Premier League superstar might just have the last laugh. Not bad for a ball-boy.