How Cristiano Ronaldo’s snub cost Coca Cola $4 billion

Portugal’s Football star, Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent disapproving gesture at an ongoing Euro 2021 press conference, cost Coca-Cola $4 billion in its share price. The press conference was in Budapest on Monday in the prelude to Portugal’s Group F game against Hungary.

The price of Coca-Cola shares dipped by $4billion when Ronaldo cleared two bottles of Coke set on the conference table and replaced them with a bottle of water. He then replaced the bottles of Coke with a bottle of water, held up the bottle of water and said in Portuguese: “Agua!”, seemingly encouraging people to choose water instead.

The shares dipped from $56.16 to $55.22 almost immediately after Ronaldo’s gesture, meaning the company’s value fell from $242bn to $238bn.

The Portuguese star is known for his preference for healthy living and his disdain for soft drinks like Coke. He had said in the past that “Occasionally my son drinks Coca Cola or Fanta and eats crisps and he knows I don’t like that.” 

Even at the age of 36, Ronaldo is still on top of his game and he has the physical and mental ability to compete in his game. Ronaldo is also a big brand offline and online. He has over 300 million followers on social media and understandably, his gesture had a negative impact on the beverage maker’s stock prices.

Coca-cola is a sponsor of the Euro 2021, having paid top dollars for the slot. Its response to Ronaldo’s act was: “everyone is entitled to their drink preferences” as people have different “tastes and needs”.

UEFA also came out to support Coca-Cola, saying: “Without the brand it would be impossible to invest in the future of football at all levels. Coca-Cola has a long tradition in supporting all sports.”