Coca-Cola lost $4 billion in market value after Cristiano Ronaldo suggested people drink water instead

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. 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 were trading around $56.17 when the market opened on Monday, but fell 1.6percent to $55.22 by the end of the press conference. That led to a sharp drop in market value from $242 billion to $238 billion. The soft-drink manufacturer’s shares closed at $55.41 per share on Tuesday. The stock price of one of the largest bottlers of the drink, Coca-Cola Bottling, fell 4percent on Monday, and is down 8percent 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.”

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.