Slaven Bilic was a breath of fresh air on ITV (Picture: Getty)

Dimitri Payet and Gareth Bale may be grabbing all the headlines for their performances on the pitch but arguably the real star of Euro 2016 has been West Ham boss Slaven Bilic.

The eccentric Croatian has been ITV’s leading pundit throughout the tournament and he’s provided viewers with some memorable moments – including his brilliant reaction to Payet’s late goal against Albania.

The West Ham boss has been refreshingly honest in his role during the tournament, combining his tactical analysis with the charm and charisma that makes him one of the most loved characters in the Premier League.

ITV, though, confirmed today that the 47-year-old must return to his duties as Hammers boss and will therefore not be available for the rest of the tournament.




As you can probably guess, it sent most fans into a state of mourning:

Bilic leaving ITV to join up with West Ham & get ready for pre season. Gutted, the guy made a great pundit. The Euro's will not be the same. — Emre Can (@ItsEmreCan) June 23, 2016

Slaven Bilic is the best football pundit I've ever seen. — JKW (@JoshGFCKeeble) June 23, 2016

Slaven Bilic is the best pundit I've seen since Neville packed off to Valencia. Big fan, so knowledgable can see why hes such a good manager — Adam Watts (@AdamWatts8) June 23, 2016

Bilic leaving ITV ffs may as well just end the euros now he was the best thing about it — Ted Powell (@Westhamted) June 23, 2016

Bilic has left the ITV panel :( — Sam Gocher (@Sam_Gocher) June 23, 2016

Bilic leaves ITV ahead of pre-season preparation with West Ham. One of the best pundits I’ve seen in years…. pic.twitter.com/bYNbaUetyx — Kloppholic (@Kloppholic) June 23, 2016

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