Cristiano Ronaldo Coca-Cola snub: When Virat Kohli said NO to lucrative offer by THIS beverage giants

Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous Coca-Cola snub ahead of a UEFA Euro 2020 press-conference has led to reactions not just from footballers, but also people belonging to other sports discipline have joined the bandwagon. 

Such was Ronaldo’s impact, his single gesture saw the beverage company bear losses upto $4 billion. 

Cristiano Ronaldo qui déplace les bouteilles de Coca et qui dit “eau” en montrant aux journalistes  pic.twitter.com/LaDNa95EcG

— Gio CR7 (@ArobaseGiovanny) June 14, 2021

While the Coca-Cola debate may take a while to end, today we take a look back at past instances, when India cricket skipper Virat Kohli and former All England Championship winner Pullela Gopichand refused to endorse the carbonated drinks. 

In an interview with CNN-IBN in 2017, the cricketer had said: “Things that I’ve endorsed in the past, I won’t take names, but something that I feel that I don’t connect to anymore… I won’t urge others to consume it just because I’m getting money out of it.”

“I want to give something to people that I use, myself. One of the reasons, I decided not to sign Pepsi is that I have undergone lifestyle change. And, I am not using that product anymore,” Kohli had said. 

****

Meanwhile, Gopichand, who won the prestigious badminton competiton back in 2001 had also declined from signing a lucrative deal with a beverage company, citing health reasons.

In a report on Times Now, the current coach of the Indian badminton team was quoted as saying: “Since 1997, I have stopped drinking these soft drinks. After seeing the reports, as well as studies on the health hazards of these products, I stopped their consumption. Only my family members and friends were aware of the offer and my decision. I did not want to discuss it further as it was purely a personal decision.”