A combo image shows Cristiano Ronaldo shoving away the Coca-Cola bottles.

Gulf Today Report

Celebrities, specially barons of business, should watch what they say. A classic case is Tesla founder Elon Musk.  He has sent the value of cryptocurrency Bitcoin into a tailspin with his tweets.

Last month, Musk sent Bitcoin prices nosediving after announcing Tesla would no longer accept it as payment for its vehicles. The reason: high levels of carbon emissions produced by bitcoin mining.

After that, Musk sent a cryptic tweet that suggested he had broken up with Bitcoin, sending the price of the digital asset down about 5%.

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On Sunday, the cryptocurrency’s value surged again, after he tweeted that the electric carmarker would resume allowing Bitcoin transactions when miners who verify transactions use more renewable energy.

Now, comments by another celebrity, this time from the sports arena, have roiled the fortunes of a global brand, incurring a loss of $4 billion in the process.

Famed footy genius Cristiano Ronaldo left the top echelons of the Coca-Cola company red-faced with his remarks on the universal drink at a news conference during Euro 2020.

According to a report, a video showed that after taking his seat during a press conference, the former Real Madrid superstar picked up two bottles of Coca-Cola which were already laid out before him and said “Water. Coca-Cola…”

He shoved the two bottles aside and grabbed a bottle of water, telling people at home which of the drinks was a healthy choice.

But what Ronaldo may not have realised is the huge financial impact he would have on Coca-Cola with those words.

On the face of it, this gesture would seem harmless, but this small move had a huge impact on the brand’s fortunes. Its shares were worth $56.1, but by the time Ronaldo and his Portugal boss Fernando Santos left their seats at the press conference, the shares had dropped to $55.2 each.

The 1.6% drop in share price meant a loss in $4billion in terms of company worth.

Ronaldo may have been trying to make a point on good health by advocating drinking water, but took the fizz out of the image of the much-loved beverage in the bargain.