Brazilian football star Ronaldinho chose Pepsi as his beverage of choice at a recent press conference. If someone told you this, you would probably respond by asking them why you should care. You shouldn’t, but Coca-Cola certainly did. Ronaldinho reportedly has a sponsorship deal with the Coca-Cola company worth around $750,000 a year. Or, we should say, he had a sponsorship deal with the Coca-Cola company worth $750,000 per year.
According to Yahoo! Sports, Coca-Cola executives were furious that Ronaldinho was recently answering questions in front of a microphone while sipping on a Pepsi. They have reportedly pulled the plug on his endorsement deal as a result. The Pepsi-drinking incident was supposedly the end of the line for Ronaldinho, as the people at Coke had already been growing tired of his antics.
“The fact that the player has appeared with a can of Pepsi was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Coca-Cola marketing chief Marcelo Pontes told the ‘O Estado de Sao Paulo’ newspaper. “The sponsorship had become embarrassing.”
If Atletico Minieiro’s newest addition was sipping on a Mountain Dew or an Amp energy drink, we might give him a pass. Some people don’t even realize those beverages are owned by the Pepsi Company. The fact that he was drinking an actual Pepsi indicates he is either extremely careless or the biggest Pepsi fan on earth.
H/T Sports by Brooks Live
Photo credit: Presse Sports-US PRESSWIRE
