The former English Premier League player has been close to the pop star for some time, and he has now admitted his doubts over the bombshell news that Tomlinson is expecting a baby with Los Angeles-based stylist Briana Jungwirth following a brief fling.

Bullard, who has two children with his longterm girlfriend, tells Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper, "I'm not sure we should be congratulating that. Yeah... a nightmare... He's going to have his hands full. I'm sure he'll get it all sorted. I can't advise him, I struggle with my two as it is. He'll be a great dad."

The former sportsman adds of his friendship with the singer, who he first met at a charity soccer game last year (14), "It is a weird relationship. It's a random one. It's just grown... I call him or he calls me and we slag people off, mainly. We get together and say, 'Let's give this character some'... We destroy people. It makes us laugh."