Liam Payne's devastated friend drops bombshell statement as three charged over his death

's close friend Rogelio 'Roger' Nores has released a statement after it was revealed that in connection to the singer's death.

In a new interview, Nores denied abandoning the former star in the hours leading up to his passing and shut down claims that he is a suspect over the 31-year-old's death.

It comes after Argentinian prosecutors confirmed three people are now under formal investigation, with one believed to be an unnamed "friend" of the late pop star.

A description given by authorities appeared to indicate that Mr Nores had been charged with "abandoning a person followed by death".

The unnamed individual has also been charged with being complicit in the supply of drugs - a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

However, Nores has slammed claims that he is the person under investigation as he shared an emotional statement.

"I never abandoned Liam, I went to his hotel 3 times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened," he told . "There were over 15 people at the hotel lobby chatting and joking with him when I left."

Nores continued: "I could have never imagined something like this would happen. I've given my statement to the prosecutor on October 17 as a witness and I haven't spoken to any police officer or prosecutor ever since."

Expressing his heartbreak over his pal's death, Nores added: "I wasn't Liam's manager he was just my very dear friend and please refer to the email I sent to Liam and his team on August 23.

"I'm really heart-broken with this tragedy, and I've been missing my friend every day."

Two hotel workers are among the three detained in the investigation, according to .

Liam died after falling off a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 16. An initial post-mortem examination said that Liam died instantly due to multiple traumas, with "internal and external haemorrhage".

Witnesses claimed that Liam had been "acting erratic" in the lobby of the hotel hours before his death, with TMZ publishing statements saying the songwriter had smashed his laptop and had to be escorted back to his room.

Liam's body was flown back to the UK on November 4 and his funeral is reportedly set to take place in the coming days. The Strip That Down hitmaker shot to fame in 2010 when he became part of boy band One Direction.

The Wolverhampton-born star welcomed a son named Bear with Cheryl Cole in 2017.