Former Swansea City ballboy Charlie Morgan has sold his Au Vodka business to American spirits company Sazerac in a £300million deal.
The 30-year-old entrepreneur set up the company alongside his friend Jackson Quinn two years after his viral clash with Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard. Morgan was 17 years old when the Belgian star was sent off for kicking him during an EFL Cup tie in 2013.
Now the co-founders have cashed in on their rapid commercial success after selling the luxury drink brand to Sazerac, a major American alcohol manufacturer known for producing global beverage lines.
Welcoming the acquisition, Sazerac chief executive Jake Wenz praised the rapid growth of the Swansea-based liquor firm.
"Au Vodka is a brand we’ve long admired," Wenz said. "What Charlie, Jackson, and Charlie have achieved in just over a decade is spectacular and rare, and we have big plans for Au as we welcome the brand into the Sazerac family."
Celebrity backing and rapid expansion
The business expanded rapidly across the United Kingdom and international markets after receiving backing from high-profile figures. Nine years ago, British DJ Charlie Slot invested in the brand and used his contacts in the music industry to further promote Au.
Au Vodka grew in popularity following endorsements from sports stars including boxing legend Floyd Mayweather and former FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldinho. Following its rise, the company moved into glitzy, fully gold offices in its home city of Swansea, South Wales.
Swansea City, a Welsh club competing in the English football league system, was hosting Premier League side Chelsea in the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final when Morgan first came to public attention. During the tense 2013 match at the Liberty Stadium, the teenager attempted to delay Hazard from retrieving the ball to speed up play.
Hazard tried to grab the ball back from underneath Morgan, resulting in the Belgian international kicking the ballboy. The referee showed Hazard a straight red card for the incident, causing widespread media coverage across the country.
Mistaken identity and media frenzy
Reflecting on the incident two years ago during a promotional meeting with Hazard, Morgan admitted he initially did not know who had kicked him on the pitch.
"I remember a couple of times in that game, it was Juan Mata, who was coming across all the time," Morgan told Hazard. "I remember I chucked it over his head and different things and the fans started singing different things about the ballboy so it was a bit of a crazy one."
"Then obviously the incident happened but the crazy thing is until I got to the changing rooms I thought it was Juan Mata who kicked me," Morgan added. "I thought all along, I thought the whole time, I didn't know and then they said it was Hazard."
Hazard revealed that the discovery of the clash left his own mother close to tears. Meanwhile, Morgan recalled how the sudden spotlight transformed his life overnight.
"I left that game thinking it was going to be a small thing but then on the way home - my mum picked me up from the game - she had like 20 phonecalls," Morgan said. "So for like a month it was like all the newspapers outside my house and Fox News, Sky News, like the paparazzi etc."
"For two weeks I was super famous and then super not famous," he added.
Reunion and future outlook
Two years ago, Morgan even used Hazard himself to promote his vodka, sitting down for a chat with the former Real Madrid and Chelsea winger. The duo reunited in laughter years after the pitch-side controversy.
Now the entrepreneur is back in the limelight following his massive business triumph. Having completed the £300million sale of Au Vodka to Sazerac, the 30-year-old is set for life and will never have to work again.
