Pogba removes Heineken bottle at Euro news conference

French playmaker's move comes after Cristiano Ronaldo removed the Coca Cola bottles, preached to drink water

MUNICH:

France midfielder Paul Pogba removed a bottle of Heineken beer that had been placed in front of him at a Euro 2020 news conference on Tuesday, a day after Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo moved aside Coca-Cola bottles in a similar set-up.

Pogba, a practising Muslim, removed the bottle when he sat down to speak to the media after he was named ‘Man of the Match’ in France’s 1-0 Group F win over Germany.

VIDEO: A day after Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo made headlines for ditching a bottle of a leading soda brand for water, Paul Pogba, French midfielder, removed an alcoholic beverage during a press conference.

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Reuters has request comment from Heineken, who are one of the official sponsors of Euro 2020.

On Monday, Cristiano Ronaldo’s gesture of removing Euro 2020’s sponsored drink Coca-Cola during the press conference on Monday caused a stir which resulted in the video going viral on social media.

The Portugal captain, speaking ahead of his country’s group-stage match against Hungary where they won 3-0 with the forward scoring a brace, removed the two Coca-Cola bottles that led to a $4b fall in the share price of the giant company.

The Juventus star then moved forward by holding up a bottle of water, and saying, “Agua! (Water!)”.

Coca-Cola’s share price drastically reached from $56.10 to $55.22, after Ronaldo’s press conference of 30 minutes to promoting drinking water instead of the soft-drink. The market value of the mega-company went from $242bn to $238b – a drop of $4b.

Coca-Cola replied on Tuesday with a statement saying, “everyone is entitled to their drink preferences” with different “tastes and needs”.

One of the spokesperson from the Euros also expressed, “Players are offered water, alongside Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, on arrival at our press conferences.”