Cristiano Ronaldo’s removal of two Coca-Cola bottles at his news conference coincided with a $4 billion drop in the share price of the American drink giant.
The Portugal captain was visibly troubled when he saw two bottles of the carbonated soft drink in front of him as he sat down to speak to the media on Monday in Budapest, ahead of his national team’s Group F opener against Hungary.
Ronaldo, an advocate of a healthy diet, moved the glass bottles out of the camera frame and instead held up a bottle of water in while he said in Portuguese: “Water!”
Coca-Cola saw their share price dropped by 1.6% to $55.22 soon after Ronaldo’s actions. The market value went from $242bn to $238bn — a $4bn drop.
Coca-Cola, an official sponsor of Euro 2020, responded in a statement that “everyone is entitled to their drink preferences” with different “tastes and needs”.
Coca-Cola company has 200 brands worldwide including different types of water. One of their spokesperson at the ongoing Euros said:
“Players are offered water, alongside Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, on arrival at our press conferences.”
It added that without the “support of brands like Coca-Cola we could not organise a tournament with such success for players and fans, nor invest in the future of football at all levels”.
Coca-Cola’s partnership with UEFA goes back to 1988 with the company having “a long tradition of supporting all sports at its various levels” and which has allowed “investment in football at all levels”.
The reason for this gesture is because the veteran is known to have an incredibly strict diet and he also avoids sugary foods.
Ronaldo is thought to eat up to six clean meals a day to help maintain his incredible physique.
He has scored twice for his national team while also becoming the leading scorer in European Championship with 11 goals. They now face Germany in their second match on Saturday.
