Coca-Cola has reacted to the viral video of football star, Cristiano Ronaldo removing two of the company’s soft drink bottles from his press conference on Monday.
Recall that the Portugal player at the pre-match press conference for UEFA Euro 2020 wasn’t pleased with the fact that two Coca-Cola bottles were kept in front of him. So, he moved the bottles out of the camera view and encouraged people to drink water instead.
It was later gathered that the gesture took $4 billion from Coca-Cola’s market value and its shares dropped 1.6 per cent.
Coca-Cola’s share price promptly dropped from $56.10 (£39.80) to $55.22 (£39.19).
At one point during the day, 1.6 per cent of the company’s value had been wiped off – meaning the market value of Coca-Cola went from $242bn to $238bn – a drop of $4bn (£2.84bn).
There was a late recovery, with the price back up to $55.44 (£39.38) at closing.
Reacting to this, Coca Cola, which is one of the official sponsors of Euro 2020, stated that “everyone is entitled to their drink preferences”.
A Coca-Cola spokesperson said;
Players are offered water, alongside Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, on arrival at our press conferences.
The spokesperson added that people have different “tastes and needs”.
Ronaldo, 36, has a famously strict diet and avoids sugary foods, eating clean up to six times a day to maintain his incredible physique while he ages.
While still at Real Madrid, the club doctor said he had the body of a player ten years younger and could continue playing at the top level into his 40s.
