Manchester City star Jack Grealish has paid tribute to Liam Payne after the former One Direction star died aged 31 on Wednesday night.
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 had fallen from his room at the Casa Sur Palmero Hotel shortly after 5pm (ART) Wednesday evening.
Grealish took to Instagram to share a picture of the popstar accompanied by his condolences after the tragic death.
‘Awhhh no, this is so sad man!!,’ wrote Grealish. ‘So so sad!! RIP Liam Payne. We have to start being nicer to each other in this world man.’
Jack Grealish took to Instagram to pay tribute to Liam Payne after his tragic death in Argentina
Payne passed away aged just 31 after falling off a balcony in his hotel in Buenos Aires
The English singer was reportedly in South America to see his former bandmate Niall Horan (middle left) perform
Payne was once compared to Grealish during Soccer Aid in 2023 after emulating the City forwards hairstyle.
Tottenham midfielder James Maddison has also paid tribute to Payne on Instagram.
‘Reast in peace Liam Payne,’ wrote Maddison. ‘Thoughts are with Liam’s family and friends at this unimaginable time.’
The singer was a keen footballer who twice featured at Soccer Aid, which raises funds for UNICEF – United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.
He captained England on his first appearance in 2022, before returning for the second time, a year later.
Payne’s captain in 2023 was former Lioness, Jill Scott, who has revealed she is crushed by the news. On Instagram she wrote: ‘This is just heartbreaking xxx.’
The star rose to fame as a member of the 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 battled with a series of mental health struggles as well as alcoholism and suicidal thoughts.
Payne was once compared to Grealish due to sporting a similar haircut at Soccer Aid in 2022
Over the years, Payne battled with mental health struggles as well as alcoholism and suicidal thoughts
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 worried how far my rock bottom was going to be. Where’s rock bottom for me? And you would never have seen it. I’m very good at hiding it. No one would ever have seen it.’
When the host, Steven Bartlett, questioned if Liam’s dark thoughts included ‘suicidal ideation,’ the singer said ‘Yes.’
‘Yeah. There is some stuff that I have definitely never, never spoken about. It was really, really, really severe. It was a problem. And it was only until I saw myself after that I was like, “Right, I need to fix myself.”‘
Payne recalled seeing photos of himself looking ‘bloated’ which he labeled as his ‘pills-and-booze face.’
‘My face was just, like, 10 times more than it is now. I just didn’t like myself very much, and then I made a change.’
Local police have since launched an investigation into the sudden death of the star, as tributes flood in the wake of the tragedy.
A statement from local police said they arrived to the hotel after they were ‘informed of an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol’.
Payne’s final Snapchat posts have been revealed not long after his tragic death
One image showed both Payne and his grilfriend Kate pausing for a mirror selfie together
Officials heard a loud sound in the courtyard before discovering his body just after 5pm, reported the BBC.
According to TMZ, Liam ‘had been acting erratic in the hotel lobby and smashed his laptop’ before he ‘had to be carried back to his room’.
Police had received a call from a worker at the hotel requesting urgent help with an intoxicated guest, according to audio related to the case obtained from the Buenos Aires security ministry.
‘When he is conscious he is destroying the entire room and we need you to send someone,’ the worker said.
Emergency medical services director Alberto Crescenti said Liam had suffered ‘very serious injuries after falling from a third floor into an internal courtyard’.
A purported final photograph of Payne at the the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires has emerged
‘We verified his identity using the passport he had,’ he said. ‘Afterwards, we found out he had been a famous singer.
‘Unfortunately, the injuries he had suffered as a result of the fall proved to be fatal. There was no possibility of resuscitating him.’