Coca-Cola loses $4 bn due to Ronaldo Picture Credit: AP
Cristiano Ronaldo’s removal of two Coca-Cola bottles during a press conference at the Euro 2020 has led to drastic impact on the drinks giant. During Euro 2020 press conference, Cristiano Ronaldo had removed the coca-cola bottles from front of him. The 36-year-old moved the cola bottles aside as he sat down to speak to the media ahead of their Group F opener against Hungary.
Ronaldo followed it by holding up bottle of water before shouting in Portuguese: “Agua!”, appearing to encourage people to choose that instead. The Juventus star is a renowned fitness freak. His fitness standards are a notch above the rest, which allow him to give his best year after year.
Here's a video of the incident:
The whole episode had a negative impact on the soft drink brand. Ronaldo's gesture has caused the company $4 billion in stock value. Coca-Cola’s share price dropped from $56.10 to $55.22 almost immediately after the incident, a 1.6% dip. The market value of Coca-Cola went from $242bn to $238bn – a drop of $4bn.
Coca-Cola replies with statement
Coca-Cola, one of the official sponsors of Euro 2020, replied to the recent happenings on Tuesday with a statement that said, “everyone is entitled to their drink preferences” with different “tastes and needs”.
A Euros spokesperson also commented on the same, “Players are offered water, alongside Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, on arrival at our press conferences.”
Ronaldo scored twice in Portugal’s 3-0 win over Hungary to move beyond France great Michel Platini as the record goalscorer at the European Championship finals with 11 goals. He extended his record as the only player to score in five separate Euros finals. Ronaldo has played most Euro games, with the match against Hungary being his 22nd since his debut in 2004.
Watch the video here: