Fans can't keep calm as Manuel Locatelli emulates Ronaldo, keeps Coca-Cola bottles away

After Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo, Italian sensation Manuel Locatelli became the latest football star to pop at the sight of cold drinks that were placed at his table during the post-match press conference.

Italy became the first team to reach the knockout stage of Euro 2020 riding on Manuel Locatelli's match-winning brace. However, the youngster was in no mood to celebrate the occasion by sipping Coke and he had no hesitation in keeping those couple of Coca-Cola bottles aside before he addressed the media.

Manuel Locatelli gives thumbs down to Coca-Cola

Manuel Locatelli collected his MOTM trophy after the final whistle and also sat in for the post-match press conference to give his views on the game and Italy’s tournament so far. However, he became the centre of attraction when he emulated football megastar Cristiano Ronaldo's stunt by cheekily moving the Coca-Cola bottles from his table and then placing a bottle of water directly in front of his microphone. 

Watch the video here:

Once this came to the notice of the netizens, they could not keep calm and took a subtle jibe at the soft drink manufacturing company. Here are some of the reactions:

A couple of days ago, Cristiano Ronaldo had moved two Coca-Cola bottles that were placed in front of him during the pre-match press conference ahead of Portugal's group game against Hungary. Nonetheless, what really stood out here is that he held a bottle of water in the air and said 'Aqua'. The Portugal captain's stunt cost Coca-Cola a fortune as the aerated beverage company reportedly lost $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. 

Coca-Cola is one of the sponsors of the ongoing Euro 2020.

Manuel Locatelli's brace helps Italy qualify for Euro 2020 knockouts

Coming back to the contest, Italy became the first team to secure a spot in the knockout rounds of the 2020 European Championship with an emphatic 3-0 win over Switzerland in their Group A match at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Wednesday riding on Manuel Locatelli's brace. The 23-year-old midfielder scored in the 26th and 52nd minute respectively.

Manuel Locatelli got his first on the night from close range after tapping in a cross from Domenico Berardi. He then got his second soon after the break, picking up a pass at the top of the penalty area and smashing a left-footed shot past Swiss keeper Yann Sommer to make the visitors' way back into the game virtually impossible. Ciro Immobile added further gloss to the scoreline just before full-time with a long-range effort to make it 3-0.