Sir Alex Ferguson has accused Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas of being "mischievous" in a row over Karim Benzema.

Aulas complained that Manchester United had expressed an interest in their star striker, claiming it was "destabilising".

The teams are due to meet in the Champions League at Old Trafford on Tuesday with the first leg finishing in a 1-1 draw and a place in the quarter-finals at stake.

Benzema opened the scoring in France, only for substitute Carlos Tevez to equalise late on.

United boss Ferguson said: "When you are asked about the quality of a player, you give an honest opinion.

"He is a good player. But we have said the same about Juninho, [Hatem] Ben Arfa and [Jeremy] Toulalan.

"I think [Aulas] is being a little bit mischievous. We have never said that we are interested in Benzema.

"I haven't said it yet and I don't say we are interested now."

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