England internationals and Lioness legend post heartbreaking tributes to Liam Payne after One Direction star’s tragic death
Manchester City star Jack Grealish has paid tribute to Liam Payne after the former One Direction star died aged 31 on Wednesday evening.
Payne fell from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after reportedly arriving in the country earlier this month to attend his ex-bandmate Niall Horan’s concert.
Several witnesses said Payne fell from his room at the Casa Sur Palmero Hotel shortly after 5:00 PM (ART) on Wednesday evening.
Grealish shared a photo of the pop star on Instagram, accompanied by his condolences following the tragic death.
“Awhhh no this is so sad man!!,” Grealish wrote. ‘So sad!! RIP Liam Payne. We need to be nicer to each other in this world, man.’
Jack Grealish paid tribute to Liam Payne on Instagram after his tragic death in Argentina
Payne died at the age of 31 after falling from a balcony at his hotel in Buenos Aires
The English singer was reportedly in South America to see his former bandmate Niall Horan (center left) perform
Payne was once compared to Grealish at Soccer Aid in 2023 after mimicking the City forward cut.
Tottenham midfielder James Maddison also paid tribute to Payne on Instagram.
“Rest in peace Liam Payne,” Maddison wrote. “Thoughts are with Liam’s family and friends at this unimaginable time.”
The singer was a keen footballer and made two appearances at Soccer Aid, which raises money for UNICEF – United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.
He captained England in his first appearance in 2022, before returning for a second time a year later.
Payne’s captain in 2023 was former Lioness Jill Scott, who has revealed she is devastated by the news. She wrote on Instagram: ‘This is just heartbreaking xxx.’
The star rose to fame as a member of boy band One Direction, alongside his former bandmates Harry, 30, Horan, 31, Zayn Malik, 31, and Louis Tomlinson, 32.
Over the years, Payne has also struggled with a range of mental health issues, alcoholism and suicidal thoughts.
Payne was once compared to Grealish for sporting a similar haircut at Soccer Aid in 2022
Over the years, Payne struggled with mental health issues, alcoholism and thoughts of suicide
In 2021, while on the Diary Of A CEO podcast, he opened up about suffering from depression and substance abuse during his time with One Direction.
‘I was afraid of how far my lowest point would go. Where is the low point for me? And you would never have seen it. I’m very good at hiding it. No one would have ever seen it.’
When the host, Steven Bartlett, wondered if Liam’s dark thoughts included “suicidal thoughts,” the singer said, “Yes.”
‘Yes. There are some things that I have absolutely never, ever talked about. It was really, really bad. It was a problem. And it wasn’t until I saw myself afterwards that I thought, ‘Okay, I have to fix myself.’
Payne recalled seeing photos of him looking “bloated,” which he labeled as his “pills-and-booze face.”
‘My face looked about ten times the way it looks now. I just didn’t like myself that much, and then I made a change.”
Local police have since launched an investigation into the star’s sudden death, as tributes flood in the wake of the tragedy.
According to a statement from local police, they arrived at the hotel after being “informed of an aggressive man who may be under the influence of drugs and alcohol.”
Payne’s final Snapchat messages were revealed not long after his tragic death
In one photo, both Payne and his girlfriend Kate were seen pausing for a mirror selfie together
Officials heard a loud noise in the courtyard before discovering his body just after 5 p.m., the BBC reported.
According to TMZ, Liam had “behaved erratically in the hotel lobby and destroyed his laptop” before having to be “carried back to his room.”
Police had received a call from a hotel employee requesting urgent assistance for a drunken guest, according to audio material on the case obtained from Buenos Aires’ Ministry of Security.
“If he’s conscious, he’ll destroy the whole room and we’ll have to send someone,” the worker said.
Emergency Medical Services Director Alberto Crescenti said Liam suffered “very serious injuries after falling from a third floor into a courtyard.”
An alleged last photo has emerged of Payne at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires
“We verified his identity using the passport he had,” he said. ‘Afterwards we found out that he was a famous singer.
‘Unfortunately, the injuries he sustained from the fall proved fatal. There was no way to resuscitate him.”