How did Ronaldinho lose £500,000-a-year contract with Coca-Cola? Bizarre incident from 2012 explained

Barcelona and Brazil legend Ronaldinho lost his massive £500,000-a-year contract with Coca-Cola following a bizarre incident during his time with Atletico Mineiro.

Having then recently joined Atletico Mineiro from Flamengo, the former attacker attended a Q&A session in July 2012. The Barcelona great, who was then earning a cool £500,000 per year from his sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola, sat beside two cans of Pepsi, Coke’s greatest rivals.

Considering Pepsi was Mineiro’s sponsor at the time, it was nothing out of the ordinary. However, the fact that the Coca-Cola ambassador did not object to it, raised eyebrows. Whispers soon emerged that Ronaldinho had taken a sip from a Pepsi can during the Q&A session, which complicated the situation even further.

Days later, Coca-Cola's marketing chief, Marcelo Pontes, said that the collaboration had become embarrassing. He revealed (via SPORTbible):

“The fact that the player has appeared with a can of Pepsi was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The sponsorship had become embarrassing.”

Coca-Cola soon released a statement, revealing that they were terminating their agreement with the 2002 World Cup winner.

“Coca-Cola recognises the career and value of Ronaldinho. However, due to recent developments, it has become impossible to continue the partnership,” the statement read.

The former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) player spent the next couple of years at Mineiro before joining Queretaro in 2014. The following year, the 2005 Ballon d’Or winner hung up his boots at Fluminense.

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When Ronaldinho backed Kylian Mbappe to become the best player in the world

In an interview with MARCA in 2022, legendary attacker Ronaldinho heaped praise on PSG ace Kylian Mbappe, revealing that he was a fan of his work. The former world champion also advised Mbappe to prioritize his happiness over everything and backed him to become the best in the world.

He said:

“I like him a lot.

“The most important thing is that he is happy, the rest will come normally. He will become the best player in the world. The rest is up to him to decide where he will play and what he wants to do.”

Mbappe, who has been regularly linked with a move away from PSG, has not let the rumors affect his on-field performances. He emerged as the Golden Boot winner at the 2022 FIFA World Cup with eight goals and has been firing on all cylinders for the Parisians as well.

In the 2022-23 season, Mbappe has pitched in with 31 goals and eight assists in 33 games for PSG, becoming their leading goalscorer.