Is Justin Bieber really retiring?

Justin Bieber set Twitter ablaze with a message suggesting he may be hanging up his microphone – but it appears to have been a joke, according to multiple sources.

"My beloved beliebers I’m officially retiring," the 19-year-old Bieber said on Twitter to his 48 million followers on Christmas Eve, the day before his new documentary movie Believe was scheduled to open in theatres in the US.

The message was retweeted more than 300 000 times and left his fans devastated.

However, subsequent tweets from the teen idol promised fans that he would "never leave them".

"The media talks a lot about me. They make a up a lot of lies and want me to fail but I’m never leaving you, being a belieber is a lifestyle," he wrote, less than an hour later.

"Merry Christmas IM HERE FOREVER," he posted.

A source close to Bieber told Gossip Cop that Bieber "isn’t going anywhere", while another told Rolling Stone that the star’s comments about retiring are "a joke from his end" and "untrue".

Bieber’s tweet follows an interview he gave to a Los Angeles radio station last week, during which he claimed to be "quitting music, quitting everything," adding: "I’m going to go (play) golf."

According to Hollywood Life, will Bieber may plan a short break from his music career, retiring would be "impossible".

Bieber has been at the centre of a number of controversies this year. In Australia, he was lambasted by a local mayor after spraying graffiti on a hotel wall, while in Argentina he caused outrage by stepping on an Argentine flag thrown onto the stage during a show.

He was also photographed in Rio de Janeiro leaving a notorious brothel, and videoed sleeping by a woman after they spent the night together.