Euro 2020 | Cristiano Ronaldo's gesture during press conference costs Coca-Cola $4 billion

One small gesture by a man, a giant loss for a company. That is what seems to have happened after Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo moved two bottles of Coca-Cola during a press conference ahead of his team’s Euro 2020 match on June 15.

The 36-year-old did not appear to be a fan of carbonated soft drinks as he removed two bottles of Coca-Cola kept in front of him for promotion. He then raised a bottle of water, encouraging people to drink water instead.

He was heard saying ‘Agua!’, 'water' in Portuguese.

Marca reported that Ronaldo’s gesture had a negative impact as Coca-Cola’s stock price dropped 1.6 percent. The American company went from being worth $242 billion to $238 billion – a loss of $4 billion, the report added.

Portugal manager Fernando Santos was also present at the press conference but he did not remove the soft drink bottles.

Football star @Cristiano Ronaldo removed two bottles of tournament sponsors Coca-Cola as he entered a #EURO2020 news conference before encouraging people to drink water.

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More videos like this here https://t.co/hhDQuQ1top pic.twitter.com/DqKZIsaHbW

— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 15, 2021

Coca-Cola is the tournament’s official non-alcoholic beverage sponsor. The sponsorship deal, signed in 2019 with organisers UEFA, gives the global beverage giant the opportunity to showcase its brands during the course of the European football championship.

Ronaldo has spoken out against carbonated drinks in the past too. “Occasionally my son drinks Coca-Cola or Fanta and eats crisps and he knows I don't like that,” Ronaldo had reportedly said in the past.

Ronaldo scored a brace to help his side win 0-3 against Hungary during the Group F match at the Puskas Arena in Budapest. The Portugal legend set the record for most career goals at the tournament in the 87th minute from the penalty spot and then added another in injury time.

According to social media posts, France’s Paul Pogba also removed a bottle of Heineken beer kept in front of him for promotion.