Liam Payne to fans: You’re heroes

Liam Payne thinks One Direction fans are "the real heroes".

The 21-year-old singer took the chance to thank the bands supporters via Twitter Sunday night after a tumultuous week which saw bandmate Zayn Malik leave the chart topping boyband. The news broke hearts the world over, and Liam was keen to let everyone know that his friend's departure didn't mean it was the end of the road for the group.

"I can see a lot of people thanking us for staying but your the real Heros here thanks for not thinking it's finished (sic)" he wrote to his 19.8 million followers.

The Best Song Ever hitmakers were rocked by Zayn's decision on Wednesday, only days after he quit their On the Road Again World Tour due to stress.

The 22-year-old revealed in his first interview after leaving the band that he hadn't been happy "for a while".

Liam and the other members, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan said in a statement that they supported their pals choice, and Liam has been the most vocal since about his feelings over the situation.

He previously took to Twitter on Thursday to open up to fans about how sad he is to see his friend move on.

"To a lot of people it's just a bunch of silly kids in a band but to the people involved it means so much more. This last week has been some of the worst times, possibly the worst it's something we are all deeply saddened by (sic)" he wrote. "It's sad to think for the time being we won't grace the stage as five bros or have the same fun on a tour bus or laughs in a hotel together that we have over the years but I'm super sure us and zayn will always remain the closest friends (sic)"