Liam Payne shares throwback photo to 'brighten things up'

LONDON, March 26 (UPI) -- Liam Payne shared a special photo for fans Thursday on Twitter.

The 21-year-old singer tweeted a goofy throwback picture of himself in a red polo shirt and blue shorts in an attempt to lighten the mood following Zayn Malik's departure from One Direction.

"Right time to brighten things up he's a throwback to one of my many embarrassing moments great shorts pal!" he captioned the snapshot. The photo has been favorited over 280,000 times.

Right time to brighten things up he's a throwback to one of my many embarrassing moments great shorts pal! pic.twitter.com/zbuEsfA1kd

— Liam (@Real_Liam_Payne) March 26, 2015

Malik announced he is leaving the English-Irish boy band on Wednesday. The 22-year-old singer exited the group's On the Road tour last week amid rumors he cheated on fiancée Perrie Edwards, and subsequently quit One Direction all together.

"For the past five years now I've been part of something so special I don't think any of us really understand," Payne wrote more seriously on Twitter. "This last week have been some of the worst times, possible the worst it's something we are all deeply saddened by."

"I'm super sure us and zayn will always remain the closest friends," he asserted. "I feel like right now it's ok to be sad and upset but I do ask everyone who is a fan of us to please keep ur faith in us I'm sure there's a lot more to come."

Payne, Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles and Niall Horan formed One Direction in 2010, and last released Four in November 2014. The remaining members will continue to perform as a foursome, and plan to record and release a new album later this year.