A former ballboy once kicked by a Premier League star in a high-profile footballing controversy is now the boss of a multimillion-pound vodka firm - promoted by celebrities such as Maya Jama and Floyd Mayweather.
Charlie Morgan was thrust into the centre of a football storm when he was kicked by then Chelsea winger Eden Hazard during an ill-tempered Capital One Cup semi-final clash with Swansea in 2013.
Then a 17-year-old ballboy at Swansea's stadium, Morgan appeared to delay handing over the ball after it had gone out of play for a goal kick.
He fell to the ground as Hazard attempted to get the ball from him, with the Belgium star, who now plays for Spanish giants Real Madrid, then trying to kick it from under him.
Instead, he appeared to make contact with the ballboy's midriff, and was shown a straight red card by referee Chris Foy.
Hazard was banned for three games for the incident. Police also got involved - probing the incident before deciding to take no further action.
Now, nearly 10-years on from the controversy, Morgan's life has taken an interesting twist.
Aged 26, he is a budding entrepreneur, who has been named in this year's Sunday Times Rich List thanks to his £40million stake in a vodka empire.
With the help of Swansea school friend and business partner Jackson Quinn, 29, Morgan runs luxury vodka brand Au Vodka - a company they launched in 2016.
Alongside branding partnerships with a number of A-List celebrities, the firm is backed by radio DJ Charlie Sloth and is now sold in 40 countries across the world.
And with the company also among the Times' business to watch list for 2023, Morgan hopes its success will help him become 'more than just the Swansea Ballboy'
He told MailOnline: 'The ballboy incident was a crazy night and let’s be honest it’s something that will be remembered for a long time.
'For me, a big part of creating Au Vodka and trying to make a success of this brand was to not just be known as "that Swansea Ballboy", but for people to see that that ballboy went on to create something really special.'
Charlie Morgan was thrust into the centre of a football storm when he was kicked by then Chelsea winger Eden Hazard during an ill-tempered Capital One Cup semi-final clash with Swansea in 2013
Then a 17-year-old ball boy at Swansea's stadium, Morgan appeared to delay handing over the ball after it had gone out of play for a goal kick
Alongside school friend Jackson Quinn, 29, Morgan (pictured with Quinn) runs luxury vodka brand Au Vodka - a business they set up together in 2016
The vodka brand, which features a gold-plated bottle and usually sells for around £30 a bottle, has been backed by stars including boxing legend Floyd Mayweather. UFC rising star Paddy 'The Baddy' Pimblett and TV and radio host Maya Jama have also advertised for the brand, which is regularly promoted by its big-name investor, former BBC radio presenter Charlie Sloth (pictured here with Morgan and Quinn)
Morgan's vodka brand, which features a gold-plated bottle and usually sells for around £30 per litre, has been backed by stars including boxing legend Floyd Mayweather.
UFC rising star Paddy 'The Baddy' Pimblett and TV and radio host Maya Jama have also advertised for the brand, which is regularly promoted by its big-name investor, former BBC radio presenter Charlie Sloth.
However, Morgan's meteoric rise is not a rags to riches story. Morgan is the heir to his father Martin's £65million Morgans Hotel empire.
Morgan's meteoric rise is not a rags to riches story. Morgan is the heir to his father Martin's £65million Morgans Hotel empire. Martin is also a director of Swansea City F.C - where Morgan first came into the public eye as a ballboy
Martin is also a director of Swansea City F.C - where Morgan first came into the public eye as a ballboy.
Charlie's business, which has a flashy Instagram page featuring celebrities and an array of gold-plated items, including a shiny branded Au van, began steadily increasing sales in December 2019.
But it began to take off last year when they started shifting 10,000 bottles of black grape vodka in a single month.
The firm's latest accounts, as shown on Companies House, reveal profits of £10million for last year. And Morgan says the company now employs 50 full-time staff - most of whom are based at the firm's head office in Swansea.
The company has also upped its game on Instagram in recent months, with a series of flashy posts, including videos of a pool party featuring a giant gold Au bottle water feature.
Floyd Mayweather also features in a number of posts, following Morgan's claim last year that he had spoken to the legendary boxer about the business.
Speaking to WalesOnline in 2021, he said: '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.
'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.
Charlie's (pictured) business, which has a flashy Instagram page featuring celebrities and an array of gold-plated items, including a shiny branded Au van, began steadily increasing sales in December 2019
But it began to take off last year when they started shifting 10,000 bottles of black grape vodka in a single month. The firm's latest profits, as shown on Companies House, reveal profits of £10million for last year. Pictured: Charlie has shared pictures of himself from around the world
'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.'
According to the Sun, Au Vodka now produce 35,000 bottles per day, including a variety of outlandish flavours - some of which he says have not worked out.
He labelled a banana flavoured vodka that they produced as 'particularly disgusting,' the paper reports.
The brand has enjoyed international expansion, and is now sold in 40 countries across the globe from Dubai, to Australia, Spain, the Netherlands and, most recently, 32 states across America.
It has also gained entry into huge international venues, specifically launching within O Beach Ibiza this Summer.
Morgan told WalesOnline: '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.
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.
'The vision is for Au Vodka to become a truly global brand, known in an instant for its unique gold branding and coloured liquids, we see the bottles being stocked on shelves internationally and becoming accessible for customers in every corner of the world.'
The success of the business now means Morgan features on the Sunday Times Rich List for 2022. The Times also named Au Vodka as the number one company to watch in 2023.
But Morgan still remains behind his father, and even his old foe Hazard, who is thought to be worth around £85million.
Morgan said after the incident that he had spoken to the winger, who moved from Chelsea to Madrid for around £100million in 2019.
According to the Sun, Au Vodka (pictured: Business partners Quinn and Morgan) now produce 35,000 bottles per day, including a variety of outlandish flavours - some of which he says have not worked out
He wrote: 'Crazy 24 hours. Spoke to Hazard and I will not be pressing charges. Be in touch.'
The message went out to his 100,000 followers - up from 600 before he had his moment in the spotlight.
And while Morgan had a positive response, it was not shared by all, with many critical of his actions during the incident.
Ex-Chelsea star turned commentator Pat Nevin, speaking at the time, described the his behaviour as 'disgraceful'.
He added: 'I was very, very disappointed by the way the ball boy acted, and I say 'acted'.
'He must have been watching footballers, the way he rolled around and pretended to be more injured.
'He only has one job and his job is to go and give the ball back, and what did he do? He keeps the ball.'
'I have to say I was absolutely amazed this morning to find he is 17, not 12, not 13.
Morgan fell to the ground as Hazard attempted to get the ball from him, with the Belgium star, who now turns out for Real Madrid, then trying to kick it from under him. Instead, he appeared to make contact with the ballboy's midriff, and was shown a straight red card by referee Chris Foy
'He should know what his action should be in that situation. His behaviour was disgraceful.'
Others criticised Hazard and Morgan. Former England striker Michael Owen said at the time: 'I maintain my opinion from last night. How people can claim Hazard assaulted a kid is embarrassing.
'He shouldn't of kicked the ball out of his grasp but he hardly booted the lad as some people were suggesting.
'The lads antics were scandalous and no wonder he isn't taking any further action.
'His Dad is a Swansea director so I'd assume this situation will be dealt with in the appropriate manner.'
