Ball boy kicked by Eden Hazard in Chelsea match named on Under 40 Rich List

Charlie Morgan, the young lad who was famously kicked by Eden Hazard during his stint as a ball boy at Swansea City in 2013, has made it onto the Sunday Times' list of the 40 wealthiest individuals under 40 in the UK.

Morgan was just a teenager when he tried to stop Hazard getting the ball back during a League Cup semi-final clash between Swansea and Chelsea. The winger was shown a red card for his actions and subsequently handed a ban, but Morgan stated at the time that he didn't want to press charges.

Fast forward over a decade, and Morgan, now 28, has built up a fortune outside of football. He is one of the founders of the drinks brand Au Vodka, which has been in operation since 2015 and boasts pictures of celebrities like Floyd Mayweather and Ronaldinho posing with its bottles.

The Sunday Times estimates Morgan's personal wealth to be around £56million. This places him 40th among those aged 40 or under on May 1, 2024, two places and £14m behind former footballer and fellow Welshman Gareth Bale.

While Morgan's personal wealth has seen a slight increase, he has dropped a few places in the 40 under 40 list after sitting 27th on the 2023 list. A number of current athletes rank higher than him in this year's list, including Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton and boxer Anthony Joshua.

The Sunday Times notes that sales of Au Vodka saw an upward trend with a hefty 20 percent growth last year. Speaking on their expansion, the company announced on their website: "Following our hugely successful launch in Europe, we are now ready for our highly anticipated launch into the US."

Adding to this narrative of success, Hazard, who hung up his boots in October, shared a photo of himself with Morgan earlier this year. "A nice thing about retirement is catching up with old friends. You have come a long way in 11 years my friend," the Belgian wrote.

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Speaking to Wales Online in 2022, Morgan did not shy away from expressing that being stocked in Tesco was a major factor in the company's growth. Not just Tesco, other prominent retailers soon caught onto the trend and started shelving Au - named after the chemical symbol for gold - offering pre-mixed drinks and liqueur as well as its original and flavoured vodkas.

"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," Morgan said at the time.

"We also want to ensure we continue to dominate the UK Vodka market, keeping a tight grip on where we started to ensure the brand is true to its roots, there's always room for more growth everywhere."

Hazard, like Morgan, has embarked on the next chapter of his career. "Now is the time to enjoy my loved ones and have new experiences," the former Chelsea and Lille ace said when confirming his retirement late last year.