Portuguese footballing icon Cristiano Ronaldo’s rejection of Coca Cola at last night’s pre-match press conference in the 2020 Euros has dealt the title sponsors a major economic blow, with stock values tanking after the health-conscious gesture.

Ahead of the Portugal versus Hungary match-up, Ronaldo, after arriving for the Monday (June 14) presser at the Puskas Ferenc Stadium in Budapest, replaced the two bottles of Coca Cola before him and held up water.

“Água,” was Ronaldo’s simple response, but the effect has been devastating for Coca Cola, whose value plummeted by $4 billion in hours, according to Spanish sports newspaper, Marca.

In a Tuesday report, Marca observed the impact of Cristiano gesture in real-time, as shares dropped 1.6 per cent to US$55.22 in European trading.

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“The stock market opened at 3:00 pm in Europe. At that time, the Coca-Cola share was in figures close to $56.10. [Thirty] minutes later, when Cristiano Ronaldo and Fernando Santos stepped into the press room at the Puskas Ferenc Stadium in Budapest, stocks plummeted to a low of $55.22 per share,” Marca noted.

“The gesture of putting the bottles aside caused a brutal 1.6 [per cent] drop for the company on the stock market. And in economic terms, Coca-Cola went from being worth $242 billion to $238 billion. Total losses of $4 billion,” the report added.

The crunch is also being felt in the United States, as Coca-Cola stocks, which closed at US$55.55 on Monday, sunk to $55.26 close to midday.

Cristiano, a staunch antagonist towards processed foods, has said in previous interviews that it is important for children to have a healthy diet away from sugars and fats. The 36-year-old father also expressed his displeasure that his son is a big fan of sodas and chips.

“We will see if my son becomes a great player, at the moment he still is not; He drinks Coca-Cola and eats French fries, he knows I don’t like it, but he still does it,” Cristiano commented in 2020 after receiving ‘Player of the Century’ at the Globe Soccer Awards.