'Will shares fall if I remove bottle?': Indian coach refers to Ronaldo-Coke snub at WTC

Referring to the sensational Ronaldo- Coca-Cola episode, Indian coach R Sridhar, during a press conference on Friday, proved that he was not only a master of tactics of fielding but also tactics of humour. Sridhar, who was to brief the media about the World Test Championship, on entering the press conference room, first enquired if there was a bottle of Coca-Cola for him to remove and if yes, would the share price of the soft drink 'change' if he does remove it. 

He asked, "Is there a Coke bottle for me to remove before we start? Will the share prices be affected if I do it?"

Coca-Cola loses $4 Bn in market cap as Cristiano Ronaldo removes soft drink to endorse water 

It all started on the eve of Portugal's Euro 2020 opener against Hungary when star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo sat for the press conference on a table, which had bottles of Coca-Cola-a sponsor for the event, placed before him. However, before starting the press conference, the 36-year-old Juventus star chose to move the Coca-Cola bottles out of the frame. Lifting up a bottle of water, Ronaldo said 'Agua’ in Portuguese, urging people to drink water instead. 

Shortly after the incident, 'Cristiano Ronaldo Coca Cola video' began trending on social media with fans lauding him for promoting healthy food choices as a sports icon. However, the 'Cristiano Ronaldo Coca Cola video' reportedly caused a massive loss of value for the soft drink beverage.

According to a report in The Daily Star, the gesture by the football icon reportedly cost the company $4 billion in stock value. The Coca-Cola stock prices plummetted by 1.6% and went from being USD 242 billion to USD 238 billion after the Cristiano Ronaldo controversy according to the report. 

Later, Coca-Cola spokesperson responded to the controversy saying that 'everyone is entitled to their drink preferences.'