Liam Payne’s tycoon pal Roger Nores is telling friends he’s being “railroaded’’ and made a “scapegoat’’ by Argentine authorities desperate to nail someone over the former One Direction star’s tragic death.

Nores, 35, and two hotel workers in Argentina were slapped with manslaughter charges for allegedly knowing that Payne, 31, was extremely intoxicated and not intervening to keep him away from his room and the open balcony he fatally fell from Oct. 16.

“He says he’s being railroaded,” a friend told The Post of the energy mogul, who was with Payne in the hours leading up to his deadly plunge from his Buenos Aires hotel balcony. “He thinks that Argentina is making an example out of him to save face. He says he’s a scapegoat.

“He says that they’re mad about the bad press,” the friend said. “And in order to change that, they had to make a high-profile arrest, and it’s him.”

Liam Payne and Roger Nores (with gal pals) became fast friends after meeting in 2020. SnapChat

Nores, who had been friends with Payne since 2020, was initially accused of abandoning the star before his death, a serious charge that carries up to 15 years in prison.

But when the official charge was filed last week, Nores received the same raps as two hotel employees — Gilda Martin and Esteban Grassi. All three have been charged with manslaughter, with a sentence of up to five years.

In Argentina, manslaughter is charged when a suspect is alleged to be negligent in someone’s death. It does not imply that the suspect caused the death.

An autopsy found that the “For You” singer had a toxic mixture of drugs in his system at the time of his death — including crack and so-called “pink cocaine,” which is a mixture of ketamine and other drugs.

The room where Payne was staying was littered with drug paraphernalia and alcohol .

Nores remains in Argentina while the case against him is pending. Bloomberg via Getty Images
Last month, Argentinian prosecutors also filed charges against three other men for allegedly providing Payne with narcotics before his fatal plunge.

While it’s unclear if Nores has filed a plea, he is privately telling friends that he is not guilty of any wrongdoing.

Nores remains in Argentina. He is banned from leaving the country while the charges are pending.

“He has always said that he was a good friend to Liam,” his pal said. “He doesn’t believe he was responsible for his death in any way, and he says he’s going to fight the charges against him.”