Dominic Calvert-Lewin has admitted he was left ‘crying on his bedroom floor’ in the lowest moment of his career as he attempted to help Everton avoid relegation.
The 28-year-old, who has been with Everton since 2016, scored the goal that confirmed their top flight status during the 2021-22 season netting the winner in a 3-2 win over Crystal Palace.
Calvert-Lewin’s goal came amid an injury-plagued season, which he claimed added to the pressure having thought it was ‘his responsibility to save everybody’ at the club.
Speaking on the High Performance Podcast, Calvert-Lewin said he had been at ‘rock bottom’ weeks before the match.
‘I did an Instagram post [at the end of the season] which was an outburst of emotion,’ Calvert-Lewin said. ‘I can look back in hindsight and reflect on what it was, I scored the goal against Palace that kept Everton in the league and that feeling I will never be able to describe.
‘It was the weight of my own pressure, the football club. I am quite an emotional person and I put that weight on my shoulders. I thought it was my responsibility to save everybody, save jobs and that’s a lot to put on your shoulders. When I scored that goal it was relief.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin revealed the lowest moment of his career before helping Everton to safety in 2022
He admitted ‘crying on his bedroom floor’ in the weeks before his winning goal against Crystal Palace in 2022 – an effort which confirmed Everton’s top flight status
Calvert-Lewin admitted he regretted the wording of an Instagram post his made at the end of the season
‘On my birthday, four or five weeks before I scored that goal, that was a low point for me. I ended up crying on my bedroom floor, I think it was not knowing how to express what I was feeling in that moment. Feeling that things are getting away from you.
‘You have all the pressure of the football club on your shoulders and at the time I couldn’t play, as I had another injury. I was thinking it was a rock bottom moment for me. I felt better after I cried and let out that emotion, and was like “I’m going to save Everton Football Club”.’
Calvert-Lewin admitted he regretted how he worded his social media post at the end of the season by saying ‘talking saved my life’, rather than ‘changed my life’.
He admitted it had made his issues appear worse that it was, but reflected he had wanted to encourage younger people to feel able to speak out when encountering problems.
The 28-year-old also admitted some of his commercial work at the time had wrongly led to fans thinking he was not focused on football, suggesting supporters were less able to relate to him.
Calvert-Lewin’s father previously spoke out against abuse of his son in August 2023, while last month the forward’s wife Sandra revealed she had been the subject of ‘threatening, racist and misogynistic abuse’.
The abuse followed Sandra posting on Instagram: ’30 goals at Goodison. Top 3 ever. They might not shout it — but we’re proud every single day.’
Calvert-Lewin’s Everton contract is set to expire at the end of the month, with the forward revealing his ambitions to play in a ‘winning environment’ to help his Champions League and England ambitions.
Calvert-Lewin admitted commercial work he had done had not helped fans perception of him, suggesting they wrongly assumed his focus had bee taken away from football
Sandra Calvert-Lewin received abuse after she posted in support of her husband Dominic
Sandra sent out this message about her husband after Everton’s final match at Goodison Park
Calvert-Lewin, who is out of contract this month, revealed his ambitions to return to the England set-up and play in the Champions League for the first time
Calvert-Lewin has earned 11 England caps to date but has not played for the national team since 2021
‘I have to be careful with what I say because I am still contracted to Everton, I have a long history with Everton and a big respect for the club,’ he said.
‘The main thing for me is I want to win, I want to be in a winning environment. After the last three or four seasons it has been about survival.
‘When I started my career I wanted to play in the Premier League, play for England a go to major tournaments with England and play in the Champions League. I have played in a major tournament for England, I have played in the Premier League, but I haven’t played in the Champions League. There are still things I would like to achieve before my time is done.
‘To have the opportunity to decide potentially where that place will be. If it gives me the best opportunity and environment to win and score goals, then that would be the return of me to the England team and playing in the Champions League.
‘That has been my driver to play at the highest level possible. My representation of that is the Champions League, World Cups, Euros and getting into that bracket of elite players.’
Calvert-Lewis has earned 11 England caps to date, scoring four goals for the national team.
Despite being a member of the squad to reach the European Championship final in 2021, Calvert-Lewin has not featured for the national team since.
