In what seems to be one of the most bizarre events of recent history, the decision of legendary Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo to move a couple of bottles of Coca-Cola out of his sight during a press conference has resulted in the drink giant lose nearly $4 billion of its market value.
The 36-year-old footballer Ronaldo arrived to attend Portugal’s press conference with manager Fernando Santos at Budapest ahead of their clash against Hungary on Tuesday. The Portuguese star, who seems to be no fan of carbonated soft drinks, removed two bottles of Coca-Cola kept in front of him at a Euro 2020 press conference.
As he put the Coca-Cola bottles away and held a bottle of water up, Ronaldo was heard saying, “Agua” (water) in Portuguese, suggesting that people drink water instead of aerated drinks. The video of the whole episode went viral on social media.
Water only for Cristiano Ronaldo ⛔
— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 15, 2021
(via @EURO2020) pic.twitter.com/XZBDoDnIZJ
The unexpected reaction from Cristiano Ronaldo had a real-world impact on Coca-Cola as its stock prices dropped from $56.10 to $55.22, a drop of 1.6%. The gesture from Ronaldo brought the worth of Coco-Cola from USD 242 billion to USD 238 billion, causing a loss of USD 4 billion.
Coco-Cola is also one of the major sponsors of the 2020 UEFA Euro Championships.
Following Tuesday’s episode, Coca-Cola put out a statement saying, “Everyone is entitled to their drink preferences as people have different tastes and needs.”
A spokesperson of the Euro 2020 tournament said that players are offered water, alongside Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, on arrival at our press conferences.
