Former Brazilian star midfielder's decisionto have a sip of Pepsi at a press conference cost him dearly as rivals Cokepulled the plug on his endorsement deal.
The former Barcelona man had himself to blame for his pocketbeing $760,000 lighter. Coke released Ronaldinho for giving Pepsi theadvertisement they were paying for.
However Coca Cola marketing chief Marcelo Pontes said it wasjust a matter of time before Ronaldinho was given the boot.
"The fact that the player has appeared with a can ofPepsi was the straw that broke the camel's back," Pontes told O Estado deSao Paulo.
The playmaker who made his name playing for the Catalanclub, has had a torrid few years. He had to change clubs, shifting fromFlamengo to Atletico Mineiro after receiving stick from the home fans.
This is not the first time a situation like this has takenplace. Pop singer Britney Spears was removed from the Pepsi payroll after shewas caught on camera drinking a Coke.