Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo moved a couple of bottles of the famous Cola out of his eyeline at a press conference and wiped $4 billion off the American company’s stock price
Drinks giant Coca-Cola’s value took a billion dollar dip after Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo moved two bottles of the drink out of sight.
The firm’s share price dropped from $56.10 to $55.22 almost immediately after Ronaldo’s gesture, a 1.6% dip. The market value of Coca-Cola went from $242bn to $238bn – a drop of $4bn.
Ronaldo is a pop culture superstar, boasting nearly 300 million Instagram followers.
Cristiano Ronaldo's body is a temple 😅 pic.twitter.com/zTnIgMwda5
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 15, 2021
Ronaldo, speaking ahead of Portugal’s Euro 2020 group-stage clash against Hungary on Monday, spotted the two bottles of Coke in front of him and immediately moved them off to the side.
The legendary forward then took out a bottle of water and said to the cameras: “Agua! (Water!)”.
European football governing body UEFA have remained quiet but Coca-Cola, one of the official sponsors of Euro 2020, replied on Tuesday with a statement that said “everyone is entitled to their drink preferences” with different “tastes and needs”.
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Ronaldo has previously spoken out about his dislike of sugary soft drinks – but has also worked on advertising campaigns for Pepsi and Coca Cola in the past too.
On Tuesday night, he scored twice in Portugal’s 3-0 win over Hungary – moving beyond France great Michel Platini as the record goalscorer at the European Championship finals with 11.
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