Swansea ball boy kicked by Eden Hazard set to sell vodka firm for £500m to BuzzBallz owner
Au Vodka co-owner Charlie Morgan earned infamy in 2013 after being kicked by the Chelsea footballer.
Charlie Morgan, the Swansea ball boy once kicked by Eden Hazard, is reportedly on the verge of selling his vodka company for £500 million to Sazerac, the owner of BuzzBallz.
Morgan and his co-founder, Jackson Quinn, are each expected to pocket over £100 million from the sale of their Welsh drinks firm, Au Vodka, according to Sky News.
Morgan, who gained notoriety in 2013 at age 17 when Chelsea's Eden Hazard kicked him during a cup semi-final, and his childhood friend Quinn established Au Vodka in 2015. The founders of Au Vodka chose not to comment on the reported deal, and Sazerac has been contacted for a statement.
Two years after launching their vodka company, Morgan and Quinn secured investment from DJ Charlie Sloth. Sloth's celebrity connections proved invaluable, bringing high-profile endorsements to the distinctive gold-colored vodka bottles. YouTube personality Jake Paul even got a tattoo of an Au Vodka bottle as a promotional stunt. The gold bottles quickly became a common sight at poolside gatherings in popular destinations like Ibiza and Dubai.
The company further expanded its product line by developing ready-to-drink cans, which maintained the signature gold branding and rapidly became one of the most sought-after products in the market. In 2025, Au Vodka inaugurated a new headquarters in their hometown of Swansea. They transformed an office block into a car park filled with gold-wrapped vehicles, and visitors could enjoy a nine-hole mini-golf course featuring golden obstacles and balls.
This marks a remarkable journey for Morgan, whose initial brush with fame came when Hazard kicked him during the 2013 match between Chelsea and Swansea City. The incident occurred when the then-teenager fell to the ground as Hazard attempted to retrieve the ball from him. The Blues midfielder then tried to kick the ball from underneath Morgan, seemingly making contact with the youngster instead. Hazard was subsequently sent off at the Liberty Stadium and later apologized. The event sparked widespread discussion among football enthusiasts, players, and pundits regarding who was at fault. A decade later, as Morgan's business flourished, he and Hazard reunited for a YouTube video where they lightheartedly reminisced about the incident.
Despite the flashy branding and celebrity endorsements, Morgan and Quinn approached their business with seriousness. Au Vodka quickly capitalized on the booming ready-to-drink market post-pandemic, becoming the second-largest brand in the UK, trailing only BuzzBallz. In 2025, Morgan informed BBC Wales News that he was looking to expand further afield, aggressively targeting the US market.
Speaking last year, Morgan stated, "If you asked a 25-year-old target market consumer in America, would they know Au? Probably not yet. So there's still so many more people who don't know about us. And I think we're still driven to try and take over the world a little bit more."