The stresses and strains of football at the elite level are often overlooked or belittled by supporters but they are very real and can be difficult to navigate.
Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has experienced the full range of the game’s emotions, from the elation of goals in the Premier League and for England to injury problems and on-pitch pressures of relegation battles.
These are low points that can weigh heavily on a player at tough times in a career even at the top of the game and Calvert-Lewin has spoken about his darkest days in football.
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‘I was crying on my bedroom floor’
On a recent appearance on the High Performance Podcast with walking LinkedIn profile Jake Humphrey, Calvert-Lewin managed to get a few words in to look back on the challenges he faced in the 2021-22 season.
Everton were embroiled in a relegation battle and the striker, now 28, felt the burden of responsibility but struggled with injury at the worst possible time.
“It was the weight of my own pressure, the football club. I am quite an emotional person so I put that responsibility on my shoulders,” admitted Calvert-Lewin.
“I thought, ‘It’s my responsibility to save everybody, save people’s jobs.’
“I was on my own on my birthday, crying on my bedroom floor for whatever reason, feeling a little bit sorry for myself.
“I think it was not knowing how to express what I was feeling in that moment, that feeling things were getting away from me, feeling you have all the pressure of the football club on your shoulders and you just want to go out there and play.”
Calvert-Lewin missed 33 matches for club and country through injury that season, sitting out almost the whole of the first half of the campaign with a toe injury.
It remains his longest injury absence, coming at the time when he believed his club needed him the most and the season after he scored 21 goals for Everton in all competitions.
His immediate future is uncertain. Calvert-Lewin is out of contract this summer and there are conflicting reports about negotiations between the player and Everton.
Calvert-Lewin is apparently willing to sign a new deal but an agreement is understood to be a long way off and Everton manager David Moyes is on the hunt for a new striker.
If the right opportunity presents itself elsewhere, Calvert-Lewin could be tempted by the prospect of the most financially significant contract of his career.
