Coca-Cola responds to Cristiano Ronaldo's snub at Euro 2020
American beverage company Coca-Cola has responded following Cristiano Ronaldo's snub at a press conference during the ongoing Euro 2020.
Following Cristiano Ronaldo's actions of snubbing Coca-Cola bottles and urging people to drink water instead, the beverage company suffered huge losses in the stock market.
However, Coca-Cola responded to Cristiano Ronaldo's antics during the press conference. In a statement released by the company, Coca-Cola said that everyone is free to have whatever drinks they want based on their liking and taste. The statement read:
“Everyone is entitled to their drink preferences” as people have different “tastes and needs."
Coca-Cola is one of the sponsors of Euro 2020. Following the drinks controversy, a Euro 2020 spokesman came out and clarified that all the players are offered water along with Coca-Cola during the press conference. The spokesman said:
“Players are offered water, alongside Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, on arrival at our press conferences.”
Also Read: Jim Beglin's column - 5 players who could impress in unfamiliar positions.
Cristiano Ronaldo's snub had huge financial implications for Coca-Cola
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most popular athletes in the world, with millions of people idolising him. So any action from the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is bound to have major implications.
After Ronaldo decided to remove the Coca-Cola bottles from the press table, the American firm had a drop in share prices by 1.6%. Coca-Cola's shares, which were priced at $56.1, dropped down to $55.22 after Cristiano Ronaldo's actions.
Apart from the drop in share prices, Coca-Cola's market value dropped by a massive $4 billion within hours.
A similar incident took place a day later when French midfielder Paul Pogba moved bottles of Heineken from the press table. The press is referring to Ronaldo and Pogba's actions as 'bottlegate'.
Despite their off-field antics, both Paul Pogba and Cristiano Ronaldo had a great start to Euro 2020. The Portuguese captain scored twice to help his team beat Hungary 3-0, while Paul Pogba put in a 'Man of the Match' performance in France's 1-0 win over Germany.
Cristiano Ronaldo's brace helped him surpass Michel Platini as the all-time top scorer in the history of the European Championship. The 36-year-old now has 11 goals in the competition, with only Antoine Griezmann (6) having a realistic chance of surpassing the Portuguese in the future.
Also Read: Paul Merson's column - Euro 2020: 5 surprise contenders for the Player of the Tournament award.