Lionel Messi has spoken about his favorite drink, and the shares of a famous company have exploded

Shortly after the publication of the interview, the statement of the soccer superstar began to spread massively on social networks. A viral trend called Messi Mix has emerged, accompanied by thousands of funny images, videos and reactions from fans around the world.

Lionel Messi's interview sent Coca-Cola shares soaring

“I like wine, but when I don't, I have my own habit: I drink with Sprite. It works faster,” the 38-year-old Argentine revealed with a smile in the said interview.

A seemingly innocent mention of a Coca-Cola product thus brought the Sprite brand a huge dose of publicity, without any official advertising collaboration. Shares of the company that owns Sprite, Coca-Cola, exploded in a very short time.

Coca-Cola shares rose nearly five percent in three days, which increased the company's market value by about $12.9 billion, according to sport.aktuality.sk. Trading volume also increased, suggesting investors were quick to react to the jitters created by Messi's remarks.

Coca-Cola has also been affected in the past by the gestures of footballers: Cristiano Ronaldo, at Euro 2020, brought them losses of billions of dollars

Cristiano Ronaldo at the Euro 2020 press conference

The case once again confirmed the power of the public image of sports stars. It is enough to remember the year 2021, when Cristiano Ronaldo, during a press conference at the European Championship, removed the Coca-Cola bottles and urged the consumption of water.

The value of the company's shares then fell in the short term by several billion dollars. Messi's interview this time had exactly the opposite effect.

• Lionel Messi is not known as a regular drinker. He himself stated in the interview that he drinks wine only occasionally. Paradoxically, however, he owns his own brand of wines, called Lionel Collection, which he offers through the official website.