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Coca-Cola Market Value Drops by $4 Billion Following Ronaldo's Press Conference Slight
Cristiano Ronaldo's marketing power appeared to be on full display this week when his removal of two bottles of Coca-Cola from the podium at a press conference coincided with a $4 billion drop in the company's market value.
Before speaking to the media on Monday in Budapest a day before Portugal's Euro 2020 opener against Hungary, the Juventus star moved the Coca-Cola bottles out of the frame and held up a bottle of water before saying, "Agua."
Coca-Cola's share price dropped from $56.10 to $55.22 soon after Ronaldo’s gesture, while the company's market value dropped from from $242 billion to $238 billion. Coca-Cola is an official sponsor of the European Championship.
‘DRINK WATER’: Cristiano Ronaldo moves bottles of tournament sponsors Coca-Cola away from him as he enters a Euro 2020 news conference, before holding up a bottle of water to the media. https://t.co/eViWB6PGnb pic.twitter.com/0npxObjF0l
— ABC News (@ABC) June 15, 2021
A Euro 2020 spokesperson told The Guardian that everyone “is entitled to their drink preferences. ... Players are offered water, alongside Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, on arrival at our press conferences.”
On Tuesday in a 3–0 win against Hungary, Ronaldo went on to claim the title of all-time top scorer at the Euros with his 10th and 11th career goals in the tournament, while also becoming the first player to play in five different Euros.
A day later, France midfielder Paul Pogba removed a bottle of Heineken, another UEFA sponsor, from the podium after a 1–0 win against Germany. The Manchester United star is a practicing Muslim and has previously stated he does not drink alcohol.
Paul Pogba, the Muslim player in the French national team, removed an alcoholic beverage company's bottle which had been placed in front of him at a Euro 2020 news conference, one day after Cristiano Ronaldo did the same with cola bottles pic.twitter.com/Fgoi6kDpIE
— TRT World (@trtworld) June 16, 2021
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Andrew Gastelum is a programming editor and writer at Sports Illustrated who specializes in soccer, the Olympics and international sports. He joined the SI staff in March 2021 and previously contributed to Howler Magazine and NBC Sports. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame alum and is currently based in Italy.