Eden Hazard’s soccer profession is remembered largely for the moments of sheer particular person brilliance that left followers speechless.
If it was delivering a Ligue 1 title to Lille as a young person and even being the driving drive behind a number of Premier League title profitable campaigns with Chelsea, Hazard was not often out of the highlight.
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This was by no means extra evident that one outstanding incident means again in his debut season in English soccer, the place an encounter with a Swansea Metropolis ballboy would ultimately lead full-circle to a drink assembly in 2024.
“One benefit of retirement is catching up with outdated pals. You have come a great distance, pal Charlie Morgan,” Hazard posted on Instagram.
That is the message with which Eden Hazard accompanies a number of pictures of himself on Instagram with, certainly, Charlie Morgan. That they had a number of drinks, performed chess and golf. It was fairly a reunion between two acquaintances.
The factor is that the final time they met, one was a Chelsea participant, the opposite a ball boy… and their assembly led to aggression.
All of it occurred in 2013. Swansea beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge 2-0 within the first leg of the Capital One Cup semi-finals. Targets from Michu and Danny Graham put the Welsh aspect, coached by Michael Laudrup, getting ready to a historic ultimate.
A qualification they have been to clinch at residence, a day marked in pink on Swansea’s calendar for 17-year-old Charlie Morgan, son of membership director Martin Morgan.
Within the 78th minute of the sport, with the rating at 0-0 and Chelsea determined, the ball got here out large inside vary of Charlie, ball boy that evening, who as an alternative of returning it to the pitch to place it again into play, lay down on the ball to forestall Hazard, who was readily available, from getting a fast throw-in off.
And the Belgian, in his first season with the Blues, ended up kicking him within the ribs to get him to launch the ball. There was a pink card, fuss, misplaced minutes for Chelsea and Swansea certified for a ultimate that they’d go on to win 5-0 towards Bradford Metropolis.
If anybody thought the poor lad had had a slip-up, he instantly posted a message on Twitter asserting that he was going to be one of many ball boys for the match… and making his intentions clear: “The king of the ball boys returns for a time-wasting exhibition”.
From this ‘assault’ to the UK’s richest listing
His plan was as profitable as his enterprise into entrepreneurship. Barely three years after that evening towards Chelsea, Charlie Morgan created an unique model of vodka with which he has amassed a fortune with which he’s as soon as once more rubbing shoulders with British footballers… however within the UK’s richest lists.
The Instances estimated his fortune a number of months in the past at 55 million kilos, which positioned him on the listing forward of Harry Kane (and different leisure stars resembling Niall Horan or Louis Tomlinson) and with Raheem Sterling (61 million) and Gareth Bale (70 million) within the highlight.
That is the textual content with which The Instances introduced Charlie within the listing.
“The ostentatious golden bottles of AU Vodka are a fixture in lots of bars and golf equipment, however ten years in the past, Morgan, 27, was identified for being the 17-year-old ball boy kicked within the ribs by Chelsea’s Eden Hazard,” the profile learn.
“With Swansea Metropolis forward, Morgan appeared to lie on the ball in an try to forestall the Belgian star from placing it again into play. Hazard tackled him and was despatched off. Morgan was decided that the incident wouldn’t outline his life.
“Three years later, the hotelier’s son launched a model of vodka together with his faculty pal Jackson Quinn. AU gross sales soared to 43.9m in 2021-22.”
Really, Hazard’s Instagram pictures weren’t the primary time Eden and Charlie had seen one another’s faces. There was forgiveness. After that encounter, Morgan was invited to the Chelsea dressing room to obtain an apology from the Belgian participant. There he shook arms with Hazard who additionally apologized publicly.
“The man put his complete physique on the ball. I used to be making an attempt to hit the ball, not the child. I am sorry,” he apologized.
Now, someday later, they’ve been in a position to have a drink collectively and reminisce on one of many extra dramatic days in Carabao Cup historical past.
