Cristiano Ronaldo Replaces Coca-Cola With Water in Viral Clip Watched Over 1.2M Times
Coca Cola #CocaCola
© Alex Pantling/Getty Images Cristiano Ronaldo smiles during the Portugal training session ahead of the Euro 2020 Group F match against Hungary at Puskas Arena on June 14 in Budapest, Hungary.
Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has never been shy about the near-maniacal fitness regime that has kept him at the top of his game despite being eight months short of his 37th birthday. His dedication to a healthy lifestyle was again laid bare on Monday, when he replaced two bottles of Coca-Cola placed in front of him with a plain bottle of water.
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Appearing before the media ahead of Portugal’s opening Euro 2020 game against Hungary in Budapest, Ronaldo took his seat in the media room and immediately noticed the soft drinks positioned in front of his microphone.
It’s standard practice for the commercial partners of major events to strategically place their products close to microphones during press conferences.
Coca-Cola is one of Euro 2020’s main sponsors, and bottles have featured at the press conferences held throughout the tournament so far. The soft drink was also placed in front of the microphone used by Portugal’s head coach, Fernando Santos, who sat to Ronaldo’s right on Monday.
The Juventus star, however, was in no mood to pander to sponsors and could barely hide his disdain at the product placement, before proceeding to remove the bottles. He then produced an unbranded bottle containing a clear liquid and said in Portuguese: “Drink water!”
The video immediately went viral and had racked up over 1.2 million views at the time of writing.
It isn’t the first time Ronaldo has made his aversion to soft drinks clear. In the past, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star admitted to being irritated by seeing his sons drinking soft drinks and revealed he had tried to discourage them from doing so.
He’s notoriously meticulous about his diet and bar the odd glass of fruit juice with breakfast or wine with dinner, he drinks water almost exclusively. His eating regime consists of six small meals spread throughout the day, which almost invariably include fruit, vegetables and clean proteins such as chicken or fish, all of which are cooked without oil.
Ronaldo’s disapproval of soft drinks was praised by Tom Brady, another veteran who has credited his diet and eating regime for his longevity.
“It’s almost like the veterans know what they’re doing,” the seven-time Super Bowl champion wrote as he retweeted a picture of Ronaldo replacing Coca-Cola with water.
Brady, who turns 43 in August and has repeatedly vowed to play until past his 45th birthday, is even more fastidious than Ronaldo about his diet. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback places great emphasis on eating “alkalizing” foods, that is to say foods meant to decrease inflammation in the body.
As such, he avoids processed foods, gluten and coffee, and he drinks an enormous amount of water every day.
Ronaldo and Portugal open the defense of the title they won five years ago against Hungary on Tuesday at 12 p.m. ET, while France takes on Germany in the other game in Group F at 3 p.m. ET.
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