Money scores goals.

It doesn't happen every day that footballers worth millions like Christiano Ronaldo also shoot down stock prices.

What happened?

During a press conference on the occasion of the European Football Championship, Ronaldo exchanged Coke bottles for water in front of the camera.

Because water is healthier, as evidently even he knows.

Mark Fehr

Editor in business.

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    Ronaldo is not only a football professional but also a media professional, so you have to assume that his drink change was a conscious gesture and not a coincidence.

    In addition, Coca Cola is one of the sponsors of the European Championship.

    But the Portuguese didn't take this into account.

    The stock exchange also reacted after the exchange campaign: The price of the Coca-Cola share traded in America fell from $ 55.65 to a daily low of $ 55.21 on Tuesday.

    This 44 cents loss corresponds to a value of at least 1.89 billion dollars, based on the 4.3 billion outstanding Coca-Cola shares.

    Star investor Warren Buffett probably also watched, after all, Coca Cola is one of his favorite stocks - and he is not averse to the drink itself.

    How the stock market reacted

    The depreciation sounds like a lot, but it is a common volume with a stock of a large corporation like Coca Cola in mind.

    The decline in the price of the Cola share was even stronger compared to the close of trading last week of $ 56.18.

    As early as Monday, the paper had dropped to around $ 55.21, as low as it was after the Ronaldo campaign.

    The sports channel Eurosport spoke very aptly of a "storm in a glass of water" on its website.

    Whether the price decline on Tuesday had anything to do with the soccer star's drink preferences is a point of debate.

    There are certainly some football fans on Wall Street, but for most New York stock exchange traders, the European Championship shouldn't play a major role in day-to-day business.

    Still, there is a solid reason to relate Ronaldo's drinking habits to stock market events. The lever here lies in the increasing health awareness of many consumers. From the point of view of young people in particular, meat and sugar are not only fattening foods but also climate killers. This attitude goes far beyond personal behavior and has long since developed activist traits. A star like Ronaldo who is active in social networks certainly knows these mechanisms very well.

    This message has also reached the executive suite. Programs are running in the consumer goods groups to make the product range more sustainable and healthier. Sugar cocktails like Coca Cola quickly get on the hit list. The beverage company was even forced to comment after Ronaldo's action. Everyone was free to choose their drinks, it was said soothingly by Coca Cola. And even the European Championship organizer, UEFA, hurriedly announced that the players would be offered water as well as cola and even sugar-free lemonade. The latter also comes from Coca Cola and is called "Zero Sugar". So the company is way ahead of changing beverage preferences.