Did One Direction know about Zayn Malik departure LAST YEAR?

When Zayn Malik announced he was leaving One Direction today we let out a big cry but have the boys known the singer was planning to quit for a while?

Soon after the sad news broke, fans took to Twitter to post shocked messages and many were quick to call into question the meaning behind the name of their latest album, Four.

1D TOP STORIES

](planetradio.co.uk/heat/celebrity/news/zayn-malik-s-mum-trisha-speaks-quits-1d-tour/#.VRLnKWa0xP4)

One Directioner tweeted: “Maybe they knew the whole time he is going to leave and that’s why they named the album Four. They warned us :(.”

Another wrote: “The album was named Four and we were so blind.”

One other fan posted: “I’m just saying I’ve been calling this since the last album, it was called Four after all.”

And another message read: “So One Direction’s last album was called Four. They gave us a spoiler and we didn’t even know.”

The band's record Four was released in November last year meaning that, if they did know about Zayn leaving, they would have been given enough notice to decide on the name before the end of 2014.

However, the album is actually the fourth to be released by the group, suggesting it may not be down to Zayn departing.

Zayn announced he was leaving 1D today after quitting their tour last week.

In a statement, he said: “I’d like to apologise to the fans if I’ve let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart. I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.

“I know I have four friends for life in Louis, Liam, Harry and Niall. I know they will continue to be the best band in the world.”

GALLERY: Zayn Malik quits 1D - fans react