Does Liam Payne's announcement of solo single hints at band's split?

Looks like millions of 'One Direction' fans are going to suffer heartbreak, after Liam Payne's announcement about his new single.

The 22-year-old heartthrob took to his Twitter handle to reveal that he has signed a solo deal with Capitol Records in the United Kingdom, reports E! Online.

"Happy to have signed to @CapitolUK. They have an amazing history of artists, I hope I can follow in their footsteps," he tweeted.

The news resulted in an array of reactions on social media.

While several fans congratulated the singer, some simply couldn't look past their hopes that 'One Direction' will be back someday.

However, Payne's next tweet certainly came as a relief to 'Directioners',

"One direction will always be my home and family," he wrote, adding, "But I'm very excited to see what this chapter brings."

Speculations are rife that this might be the end for '1D' as after one of the leads, Zayn Malik walked out in 2015, Harry Styles, another member of the band, signed a contract with Columbia Records, Now it's Payne, who is going solo.