Ronaldinho’s Costly Marketing Slip that Cost Him £500,000-A-Year Deal with Beverage Company

• Ronaldinho, towards the end of his career, committed a marketing ‘crime’ that cost him millions
• The Brazilian superstar did a press conference with two cans of a rival beverage company in the vicinity
• His contract with the company was instantly terminated

Brazilian football legend, Ronaldinho is certainly excellent on the ball, but his skills off the pitch in various departments could use some sharpening.

This was particularly evident in 2012 when the then 32-year-old midfielder committed what is the ultimate betrayal in the world of marketing and sponsorship deals.

At the time, ‘Gaucho’ had just joined Atletic Mineiro in his native Brazil, ending his stint in Europe.

Despite his career being on a steady decline, Ronaldinho was still a household name back then, and big companies worldwide were interested in working with him.

Among those companies was Coca-Cola, who offered the Brazilian a £500,000 a year deal to partner with the beverage company, according to channelstv.com

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During one of his first press conferences as an Atletic Mineiro player, Ronaldinho appeared for media duty alongside two cans of Pepsi, one of Coca-Cola’s biggest and direct rivals.

According to TheDrum.com, the situation was made worse when Ronaldinho took a sip from one of the cans during the presser.

Coca-Cola went on to release a statement announcing the untimely demise of the partnership with Ronaldinho, saying in a statement:

“Coca Cola recognizes the career and the value of Ronaldinho.”

“However due to recent developments it has become impossible to continue the partnership.”

To be fair, it was not entirely Ronaldinho’s fault as Atletico Miniero were being sponsored by Pepsi at the time, so it would have been nearly impossible for the midfielder not to come into contact with the brand at some point.

Son refuses to touch fan’s phone

Sports Brief also reported on an interesting incident when Son Heung Min refused to touch a fan’s iPhone.

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Ahead of South Korea’s next game against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, September 12, Son was recently captured on video interacting with one of the fans, who asked for a selfie.

In the video shared by Tiktok user Stevie_King, the fan offers her device for Son to take the picture, but the former Bayer Leverkusen man politely folds his hands to decline. He then explains to the fan that he cannot hold the phone, but is happy to take a selfie.