Coca-Cola have pulled out of football sponsorship talks with the English premier league today, only days after rivals Pepsi did likewise.
Speaking today Coca-Cola’s UK director of communications Andrew Coker confirmed the reasons behind their decision.
"Coca-Cola has a long history of supporting sport but we looked at the premiership and... decided the valuation was not right for us,".
Pepsi confirmed on Wednesday it was no longer interested in bidding for the multi-million pound sponsorship, saying it was already well covered in the Premier League through its partnership with Manchester United and association with David Beckham.
Brewing giants Budweiser also ended negotiations with the league in January. The current four-year £36 million pound ($52 million) sponsorship deal with Carling lager runs out at the end of the English football season.
The Carling brand, owned in Britain by Belgium's Interbrew, has been associated with the league since 1993-4 and withdrew its bid to extend the deal last month because the negotiations were taking so long.
The premier league would not say how many companies were still involved in the sponsorship negotiations or identify them, but a winning bidder is expected to be announced over the next few weeks, after the league negotiates its overseas television rights.