One of Liam Payne’s closest friends has revealed how he started playing polo in the months before his death to “give him a new purpose in life”.
Wealthy investor Gonzalo Avendaño, who has his own polo team and has played against Prince Harry, encouraged Liam to learn “the sport of kings” as a form of therapy “because being around horses is healing.”
Gonzalo, 56, allowed the former boy band star to stay for free at his sprawling Patagones polo clubs in Florida and Argentina, saying: “I have been a polo player all my life and I have seen how polo has helped many people to make a new beginning in their lives.
‘I encouraged Liam to take up polo because it would give him something to do – a new passion and purpose in life.
‘Being around horses is healthy and healing. Liam loved the challenge of learning a new sport and was looking forward to riding his bike every day. For him it was a form of therapy.”
Wealthy investor and polo enthusiast Gonzalo Avendaño encouraged Liam to learn “the sport of kings” as a form of therapy “because being around horses is healing.”
Royal connections: Gonzalo playing against Prince Harry in a polo match in New York in 2010
One of Payne’s last selfies in Buenos Aires was captioned “Beautiful day in Argentina” and was taken from Gonzalo’s Argentine estate last weekend.
The One Direction star’s last social media post, made just an hour before his fatal fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, was a video filmed at Gonzalo’s estate in Argentina over the weekend. past.
A relaxed Liam joked about having a late breakfast with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy at 1pm saying: “I’m staying at my lovely friend Gon’s house.” I’m going to play polo again. It’s a beautiful day here in Argentina.’
The 31-year-old complained that his body hurt: “Honestly, polo, out of everything I’ve done on a sporting level, is very difficult to do.”
Gonzalo said: ‘Liam invited me to go on this trip but I had to stay in the United States on business.
‘He called me three hours before (his death) happened. He did not appear drunk or under the influence of drugs.
‘He was happy and said, ‘Hey buddy, when are you coming here?’ We had a brief talk. He called me to say hello and give me his new phone number.
‘Liam never mentioned the idea of suicide. He had plans for the future.
‘He bought recording equipment and was writing and recording new songs. He went to Sweden in August and recorded songs in a studio.
‘We talked together about buying land and building a recording studio. He asked me to give him investment lessons because he wanted to start his own companies.’
The Argentine-American businessman met Liam earlier this year through Roger Nores, 35, an energy fund boss who was the last person to see Liam alive.
Liam fell from his 45-foot-high balcony at the Casa Sur hotel in Buenos Aires on Wednesday
Nores was photographed taking Liam to his third-floor room at the Casa Sur hotel in Buenos Aires on Wednesday after the One Direction star smashed his laptop in the hotel lobby during what onlookers said appeared to be an “episode.” psychotic.”
Nores left minutes before Liam fell from the 45ft high balcony at 5.04pm, dying instantly from multiple injuries, including an “insurmountable” skull fracture.
Late last night, police sources said drugs found in Liam’s hotel room included a powerful hallucinogen nicknamed ‘Crystal’ which causes aggression and psychotic attacks.
Police believe the drugs were supplied by a hotel employee and “criminal charges are likely.”
Gonzalo said Liam became “like family” after he invited the star to live with his family at his home in Wellington, Florida.
Gonzalo said: “Liam came to live at my house in Florida in April and stayed until a few weeks ago when he rented his own house five minutes away and moved in with his girlfriend.”
‘Roger lives in my guest house so I was happy to invite Liam to stay at my house to help him start again. My whole family loves Liam.
‘I have three kids around the same age and he was teaching one of them to rap.
‘Most nights we had dinner, listened to music, went bowling. His father Geoff spent a lot of time here with us.
‘Liam was a lonely soul. He told me he never had a break for ten years when he was in One Direction. It was work, work, work.
‘He was like a child. I’m not a psychologist but somehow his emotional maturity stopped at 16 when he joined that band.
‘When I composed, drew and created, it was fine. His problem was that he didn’t know how to be alone.
Thousands of fans gathered outside the hotel where Liam Payne died following the news of his death.
Gonzalo treasures four exquisite hand-drawn sketches that Liam gave him, three of them based on horse sculptures by British artist Nic Fiddian Green.
His friend and mentor never saw any signs of hard drug use and said: “He stayed at my houses in Florida and Argentina and they both have permanent staff, so even if I wasn’t there I would have known if there had been any incidents.”
‘After Liam moved into his own house with Kate a few weeks ago, they stopped by most nights.
“He was not a party person. I went out with my children. There was beer in the refrigerator and sometimes I would take one out, but I never finished the can.
‘We went to Argentina together in May to see (One Direction bandmate) Louis Tomlinson in concert.
‘Liam has a huge fan base in Argentina and all night girls were coming up to him. During that trip we went for the first time to my farm on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.
‘He loved it so much he wanted to come back this time. He and Kate stayed there from Friday to last Sunday and then Kate flew home.
“He called me when he got home this week and said, ‘Liam will be home in a couple of days.’
“He usually stays at the Park Hyatt in Buenos Aires. On this trip he started there, but there were 300 girls outside the hotel every night, so after leaving my farm he checked into a discreet hotel where perhaps he thought he’d have more privacy.’
Gonzalo refuses to be drawn into speculation about what caused Liam to take drugs and drink, which ended in tragedy.
Instead, he simply says, “I will never forgive myself for not being there.” I feel like I failed him.’
