Liam Payne’s boyhood football club pays touching tribute to One Direction star after his shock death aged 21

West Bromwich Albion have joined the tributes to One Direction star Liam Payne following his shock death aged 31.

Payne died in Buenos Aires after falling from a hotel. Several witnesses said Payne fell from his room at the Casa Sur Palmero Hotel shortly after 5pm (ART) on Wednesday night.

The Championship football club paid tribute to the singer on X, who had previously spoken about his support for the team.

“We are shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Baggies fan and musician Liam Payne,” wrote West Brom. “Our thoughts are with Liam’s family, friends and loved ones at this tragic time.”

West Brom’s tribute included a photo of the star in one of the team’s matches.

West Brom joined in the tributes to Liam Payne following his death aged 31

The Championship club’s tribute included a photo of him watching a match at the Hawthorns

Payne, seen at Soccer Aid in 2023, spoke about his support for the championship

The club had already celebrated the birth of their son Bear in 2017 by sending a customized shirt in an attempt to gain his support

Payne had previously stated that he was a “huge West Brom fan” when he appeared at Soccer Aid in 2022, but admitted that “I don’t go to the games as often as I would like”.

The club sent Payne a personalized West Brom shirt in 2017, bearing the name of his then-newborn son, Bear, who he welcomed with Cheryl Cole weeks earlier.

The shirt was created as an attempt to gain support for Cheryl’s hometown club Newcastle.

The English star rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction, alongside his former bandmates Harry, 30, Niall Horan, 31, Zayn Malik, 31, and Louis Tomlinson, 32.

The pop star reportedly arrived in the Latin American country earlier this month to watch his former bandmate Horan perform.

Local police have since launched an investigation into the sudden death as tributes flood in following the tragedy.

A statement from local police said they arrived at the hotel after being “informed of an aggressive man who may be under the influence of drugs and alcohol.”

Authorities heard a loud sound in the courtyard before discovering his body shortly after 5 p.m., the BBC reported.

According to TMZ, Liam “was acting erratically in the hotel lobby and broke his laptop” before “having to be carried back to his room.”

The 31-year-old rose to fame in 2010 on XFactor with former bandmates Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, despite initially auditioning separately.

He was previously in a relationship with British pop sensation Cheryl Cole and the pair welcomed son Bear Gray on March 22, 2017.

Police received a call from a hotel employee requesting urgent help for an intoxicated guest, according to audio related to the case obtained from the Buenos Aires Ministry of Security.

“When he is conscious, he is destroying the entire room and we need you to send someone,” the worker said.

Director of emergency medical services Alberto Crescenti said Liam suffered “very serious injuries after falling from a third floor into an internal courtyard”.

“We verified his identity using the passport he had,” he said.

‘We later discovered he was a famous singer. Unfortunately, the injuries he suffered as a result of the fall were fatal. There was no possibility of resurrecting him.

In 2008, Liam began his music career after auditioning on The X Factor, when he was just 14, in front of judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue.

Payne’s final Snapchat posts were also revealed shortly after his tragic death, which showed him posing with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, just minutes before he ‘fell off a balcony’

One image showed Liam and Kate stopping together for a mirror selfie, as well as another post where he looked into the camera and typed: ‘Beautiful day in Argentina’

He was cut from the competition series, but returned in 2010 and joined Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson to form the boy band One Direction.

The group won third place on The X Factor and became a global sensation, with hits such as What Makes You Beautiful and Live While We’re Young.

The band released five studio albums, including Up All Night (2011), Midnight Memories (2013) and Made In The AM (2015) following Malik’s departure from the group.

In 2016, One Direction went on an infinite hiatus.

As a solo artist, Payne has released singles such as For You with Rita Ora for the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack.

Over the years, Liam has also battled health issues, as well as alcoholism and suicidal thoughts.

In 2021, during the Diary of a CEO podcast, he opened up about suffering from depression and substance abuse during his time in One Direction.

“I was worried about how far away my bottom would be. Where is rock bottom for me? And you would never have seen it. I’m very good at hiding it. No one would have ever seen this.

Over the years, Liam has also battled health issues, as well as alcoholism and suicidal thoughts; visa in 2021 in London

When the host questioned whether Liam’s dark thoughts included ‘suicidal ideation’, the singer said ‘Yes’.

‘Yes. There are some things I have definitely never, ever talked about. It was very, very, very serious. It was a problem. And it wasn’t until I saw myself afterwards that I thought, ‘Okay, I need to fix myself.’

Payne remembers seeing photos of himself looking ‘bloated’, which he labeled as his ‘pills and booze face’.

‘My face was like 10 times bigger than it is now. I just didn’t like myself very much and so I made a change.