LIAM Payne will finally be laid to rest this week but his manager Roger Nores will not be in attendance.
The Sun understands that Argentinian tycoon Roger “is not welcome” at the ceremony which is due to take place in Liam‘s home town of Wolverhampton this week.
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Roger is currently being investigated by Argentinian authorities in relation to Liam’s death on October 16.
The businessman was with Liam, 31, at the Casa Sur hotel in Buenos Aires shortly before he tragically fell from his third floor balcony.
A source said: “Liam’s family want his funeral to go off without a hitch and right now opinions are strained when it comes to Roger.
“It’s true he and Liam had a bond but he’s never been popular when it comes to Liam’s wider circle.
“There is a difference in the narrative, Roger would say he stepped back from working with Liam – others would say he was pushed.
“Many people didn’t even know Liam and Roger had reconnected until his fateful trip to Argentina last month.
“Due to the ongoing investigation in Argentina, he’s not welcome at this week’s service.”
In the days leading up to his death, Liam and his girlfriend Kate Cassidy had been to Roger’s home.
Roger had also joined them on a trip to see Liam’s bandmate Niall Horan, 31, perform at the Movistar Arena.
Local media have reported that Roger was arrested in connection with Liam’s death along with two others.
Roger, who has since split with his singer girlfriend Lula Mirandok, has denied allegations of abandonment but confirmed he has spoken to police.
The multimillionaire previously said: “I never abandoned Liam, I went to his hotel 3 times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened.
“There were over 15 people at the hotel lobby chatting and joking with him when I left.
“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”.
He 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.”
Roger’s claim he was little more than a friend contradicts emails seen by The Sun which confirm that he was heading up Liam’s career and resigned over a deal with Los Angeles based talent agency CAA earlier this year.
Liam’s funeral will take place this week with a private ceremony expected to be attended by his One Direction bandmates — Harry Styles, 30, Zayn Malik, 31, Niall Horan 31, and Louis Tomlinson, 32.
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