All-time soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s gesture at a Euro 2020 press conference wiped $4 billion off Coca-Cola’s market value on Monday.
Ronaldo, sat beside Portugal manager Fernando Santos ahead of his team’s match against Hungary, irritably set aside two bottles of the soda drink placed before him.
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He then picked up a bottle of water and appeared to encourage drinking that instead by saying “Água!” – which is Portuguese for water.
Coca-Cola’s shares opened trading around $56.17 on Monday, then had fallen 1.6% to $55.22 by the end of the press conference.
That coincided with a sharp drop in market value from $242 billion to $238 billion, or a $4 billion loss.
The soft-drink manufacturer’s shares continued to slide on Tuesday, falling 0.3%.
The stock price of one of the largest bottlers of the drink, Coca-Cola Bottling, fell 4% on Monday, and is down 8% in the past week.
Coca-Cola is one of the official sponsors of the UEFA EURO 2020 tournament.
The company reportedly issued a statement about the incident, saying “everyone is entitled to their drink preferences” and have differing “tastes and needs.”
A Euro 2020 spokesperson added: “Players are offered water, alongside Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, on arrival at our press conference.”
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Ronaldo has previously spoken about his disapproval of Coca-Cola and other unhealthy food and beverages.
He follows a fitness routine that includes eating six meals and taking five naps on a typical day.
In 2020, he said he gets irritated with his son Cristiano Jr. who likes to drink the soda.
Source: GhanaArticles.com