Ronaldo removes Coca-Cola bottles (Yahoo Finance)

Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo proved the power of influencers after his removal of two Coca-Cola bottles during a press conference coincided with a sharp drop in the company’s share price.

The Portuguese player’s action, in which he replaced the bottles with water went viral on social media and saw $4bn fall wiped from the value of the drinks giant.

Ronaldo is not only a health fanatic but also a hugely valued brand ambassador with 300 million Instagram followers.

The 36-year-old grabbed the two bottled placed in front of him at a press conference in Budapest ahead of his country’s Group F game against Hungary.

Ronaldo then held up a bottle of water and announced: “Agua!”, Portuguese for water, which was taken as an indication of his own choice.

A Euro 2020 spokesperson said: “Players are offered water, alongside Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, on arrival at our press conferences.” Everyone “is entitled to their drink preferences”.

Coca-Cola is an official sponsor of Euro 2020. The company’s share price dropped from $56.10 to $55.22 in the minutes after Ronaldo’s gesture, a 1.6% dip, causing its value to fall from $242bn to $238bn.

France and Manchester United player Paul Pogba followed Ronaldo’s lead, on Tuesday and removed a bottle of Heineken from the press conference table.