(TMZ) - Chris Brown says he has officially BROKEN UP with his girlfriend Karrueche Tran explaining, "I don't want to see her hurt over my friendship with Rihanna," TMZ reports.

Brown just made the announcement saying, "I have decided to be single to focus on my career. I love Karrueche very much but I don't want to see her hurt over my friendship with Rihanna."

He adds, "I'd rather be single allowing us to both be happy in our lives."

The announcement comes after Brown and Rihanna were spotted together at the Jay Z concert in Brooklyn last night. The two had been hanging around each other A LOT lately, and did some hardcore flirting at the MTV VMAs.

Karrueche had posted a cryptic tweet last night reading:



On Monday night in the Big Apple, Brown and Rihanna packed on the PDA in the middle of the busy Griffin nightclub. According to multiple reports, the exes – who split in February 2009 after he beat her – arrived at the trendy spot just a few minutes apart and were seated at separate tables. But within minutes, the hip-hop star literally “climbed over [a partition] to get to her,” reports a CeleBuzz eyewitness. Brown, 23, then took off his shirt and began “dancing on the table for Rihanna” who appeared “smitten.” Eventually the two were seen “hugging and kissing” before retreating to the back of the club together.

At 3:50 a.m., they left the Griffin, albeit separately – but the next day, Brown was spotted exiting Rihanna’s hotel, The Gansevoort. More