Messi Says Sprite Helps Gets Him Wine Drunk Faster; Coca-Cola Value Shoots Up $12.9 Billion

There's no question that one of the most famous, influential people on this planet (and several others) is soccer star Lionel Messi.

It's been well documented that he can make some serious coin for a social media post to his more than half a billion followers across platforms. However, I didn't realize he had the kind of pull to affect soda demand by merely mentioning it.

The Argentine megastar is known to like his privacy — don't we all, though? — so any interview he does, like this one with LUZU TV, is going to get attention.

During the interview, Messi talked about how he likes to drink wine when he's not in soccer-mode, but he mentioned a habit that I didn't even know was a thing.

"I like wine," Messi said, per Athlon Sports. "And if not the usual one, I prefer wine and Sprite together so it hits faster."

Can that happen? So you mean to tell me that if I mix in a can of Sprite with a glass or two of a nice Cabernet sauvignon (and by that I mean Two-Buck Chuck from Trader Joe's), it's the alcoholic equivalent of pouring rocket fuel on a grease fire.

Thank you, Dr. Messi.

But that mere message of how Sprite can help you get drunk actually helped shares of the brand's parent company, Coca-Cola, skyrocket by 4.5%.

When you're a multinational soft drink giant, a jump like that equates to billions. An estimated $12.9 billion increase in market value, to be precise.

Now, that's an influencer. Not someone who takes a picture of their ass to sell the latest snake oil weight-loss plan.

I wish I had that kind of pull. I mean, I've been into the new Mr. Pibb Zero Sugar, and I'd be very proud if that announcement made Coke's market value jump 0.0000001%

I don't know what it does to wine, though. That may be a factor.

By the way, Messi practices what he preaches. And if you think he's chasing some exorbitant bottle of wine with some Sprite, think again.

By the way, my research indicates that "R$" is the symbol for the Brazilian Real, which would make the cost of that bottle of wine under $6 USD.

Man of the people, that Messi.