That is the opinion of highly-respected French magazine L'Equipe's chief football writer Eric Bielderman.
The Reds are concerned that the Premier League champions' wish-list of front men to replace the goals of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez is fast becoming impossible to nail down.
Alongside Benzema on Sir Alex Ferguson's transfer target radar is Atletico Madrid's Sergio Aguero.
The 21-year-old Argentine is also wanted by Chelsea but his Spanish employers are ready to play hard-ball.
"I know that the big clubs of Europe are interested in our player, but I have spoken with the people next to Sergio and I am convinced that next season he will continue in the squad," said president Enrique Cerezo.
"We have not received formally any offers and the club's board of directors have had a meeting and the decision is clear - Sergio Aguero is not for sale and only if a club pay his release clause could an exit be possible.
"We will not sell. We have a good team and we will strengthen it in every way that we can. We are absolutely calm, not afraid of anything or anyone. We have contracts that we respect and we hope others respect them."
The release clause that would trigger the Aguero sale is around £55m.
Despite the £80m windfall from Ronaldo, the £25m saved on Tevez and a probable £6m for the sale of Fraizer Campbell to Hull, United would certainly baulk at Aguero's buy-out price.
There are no such massive clauses for Benzema. But it has become obvious and a concern for Reds fans that three obstacles stand in the way of Fergie landing a young player he has long admired.
Safeguard
First is that Benzema wants to stay at his hometown club for another year to safeguard his place for France in South Africa next summer if they quality.
Secondly, he has also claimed he would prefer to move eventually to Real.
And thirdly, Lyon don't want to sell.
But L'Equipe's Bielderman believes they are not insurmountable barriers for United.
"If Karim stays at Lyon then he is sure to be Lyon's regular front man and France's first-choice striker at the World Cup if we qualify," Eric told M.E.N. Sport.
"But if he goes to United and is in competition with Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and whoever else they may buy up- front then he might lose some confidence if things are not going well as he settles into a new club, a new league and a new country for the first time in his career.
"That would probably jeopardise his international standing. It would be a big challenge for him. So leaving Lyon would be a gamble. That's his main concern.
"But that's not to say he is unambitious or lacking in self belief. Not at all. He is a very confident guy and very sure of himself and his qualities.
Character
"His character and professionalism have developed and progressed very smoothly with Lyon.
"He might consider that to take it onto the next stage, then he has to move. He had touched the very top in French football, winning the league with Lyon but last season was a bit boring for him. Lyon were not champions and he might now be tempted by a challenge and be prepared to take the World Cup risk."
But what of big spending Real circling Benzema as well as United?
"United would suit him better than Real," Bielderman added.
"United are a serious club and Sir Alex Ferguson a serious manager when it comes to developing young talent. He wants to improve and I think he could do that better in United's atmosphere rather than Real's Galactico-driven new era.
"He'd have more capacity to take his game on and be a regular with United. It would be less of a gamble for him to go to Old Trafford rather than the Bernabeu.
"He'd also be fine in the Premier League. He's quick, skilful and clever but can also protect himself from the physical challenges.
"He's got the ability and adaptability to play up-front or in a wider forward position like Rooney or Thierry Henry."
So, assuming Benzema is ready to chance his arm over his World Cup ambitions, and could be persuaded that Manchester rather than Madrid is his best footballing option, can Lyon be shifted?
"That is the key," added Eric.
"He is Lyon-made. He's been there all his career. If he thought the club were not 100 per cent behind keeping him then he would go.
"But if they relent and show that they are willing to talk to another club if the price is agreed, then I think he would say he would have to take the oppor- tunity.
"If Lyon stick to their guns and are not swayed by a big fee then he'd be happy to stay.
"But as soon as they alter that attitude a bit then he might not think they are completely behind keeping him anymore.
"We have a feeling over here that that will be the case and Lyon and United will agree a fee and Benzema would go to Old Trafford."
Who would you prefer at United, Aguero or Benzema? Have your say.
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Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All
salfordite, Salford (25/06/2009 at 08:38)
stevi, france (25/06/2009 at 08:53)
These two plus Valencia & Costa would make our intentions perfectly clear.......
seasider, blackpool (25/06/2009 at 08:55)
Frank Old Trafford (25/06/2009 at 09:07)
danny, WILMSLOW (25/06/2009 at 09:09)
United are not and never have been truthfull with the fans its sad really that they take us for a ride.
What are they waiting for before they make an offer or will they make an offer or just use the Ronaldo money against the debt.
Its Waynes World !!, south africa (25/06/2009 at 09:14)
i think fergie should employ a 3 man attack with benzema and rooney playing infront of dimitar berbatov. rooney could even sit in this position, and allow berba to play closer to the box with benzema
id also love to see carrick flanked by a box to box midfielders in anderson and hargreaves. for all their defensive abilities, it is obvious that they both possess great qualities going forward, with hargreaves linking with raphael on the right and anderson linking with evra on the left.
then again i am not fergie, and as long as we win the league and Champions league next year, i couldnt care less if fergie played rio and vidic on the wings.
ian , preston (25/06/2009 at 09:32)
MUFC1878 (25/06/2009 at 09:32)
' United are not and never have been truthfull with the fans its sad really that they take us for a ride
Absolutely brilliant!
Rob Lawrence (25/06/2009 at 09:34)
Jaco, South Africa (25/06/2009 at 09:38)
Tom Erik Andersen (25/06/2009 at 09:43)
Lord Ruud (25/06/2009 at 09:44)
Will the Real Wayne Rooney please stand up!, Belfast (25/06/2009 at 09:47)
After that we dont need too many players. We have Rooney, berb, macheda and wellbeck, If a big name striker comes in the rooney will be moved out of position again, I for one want to see him in his best position for an entire season. He should now be the fulcrum of the team.
The vacated right wing is a tougher position to fill, valencia is good but wont fill the void ronaldo left. the only player i can think who can fill the boots is david silva.
Otherwise fergie should keep his cash and wait for the market to settle. We had one of the strongest squads in europe last season, that hasn't changed. As for all of ronaldo's goals, a lot were made from other forwards running around making space for him. Cant wait to see utd play like team next year!
tooth&claw, manchester (25/06/2009 at 09:56)
However, we have to look at the big picture and not think short-term. Firstly, there's no way that this overheated transfer market is sustainable. So valuations will fall. We could pay £80m on two players now and find they are worth half that in a year's time. In addition, FIFA and UEFA are determined to push through one of the local player propsals through. Either the 6-5 National Team Eligible or the 6-5 home developed player rule. If it's the latter it not so big a deal but the National Eligible rule would play havoc with our squad. We'd only be able to play 5 players who couldn't play for England. Looking at our first team squad of last season, we could only play 5 from VDS, da Silva, Evans, Vidic, Evra, O'Shea, Anderson, Giggs, Fletcher, Park, Tevez, Berbatov and Ronaldo. Players like Foster, Wes, Rio, Rooney and Carrick would have to play every game.
Now, there will no doubt be a deal to consider home nations as part of the National Eligible if the FA back the proposal and that's exactly what the FA will do to curry favour in the bid to get the world cup. If it does come into effect in 2012, we'd have to unload foreign players and we'd get next to nothing for them.
That's why I would advise SAF to keep his money in his pocket and stick to the original long-term plan. If UEFA get agreement on one of the 6-5 rules we'll be in a good position to snap up the right players, if it's rejected we have £80m to spend in a deflationary market.
Stockie (25/06/2009 at 10:03)
I don't have the facts to hand but I'm sure Rooney had a very good record playing alongside Saha for 1 1/2 seasons. Benzema has similar attributes to Saha with better technique and of course he's not injury prone. £35m could prove to be a bargin (cannot believe I just said that - football's gone mad!!)
Mrs Fullaway`s lodger (25/06/2009 at 10:03)
Aguerro is also son in law to the hand of an Argentinian cheater, I wouldn't invest a cup of coffee in him, even if he is a good player.
Ooh Aah, Get Benzema . . .
nas99, Stretford (25/06/2009 at 10:11)
Still think we need a quality central midfielder as Hargreaves is all but finished.
BALL AND BAT, ALL OVER (25/06/2009 at 10:27)
What gets me is real have all this cash off juan carlos the king of spain and then throw the new players all together and hope it works unlike at barca where they think then buy thats why they win the la liga and the champs league there a class club they can afford players but they know how to set up a deal and secure it nicely.
At ot we get raided and dont say hands off(even with ronnie,we couldnt hold on to him).
Its a real mess when were involved with a player its top whack oh its utd so the price increases whats all that about erm cant fifa say hold on its 1 rule for one club and another for another ok we got 80 million for ronnie but how many times did we say no....no should mean no,and this buy out clause should not be given to a player if that player signs for 5 years then he should be make to do the full five years...football isnt fun any more im finding its all £££££££££ and to be honest it annoying me to death they all seemed to be interested in ££££££ not the football but££££££££ when i was a kid i loved playing foot ball and after school and home work id be on the field kicking the ball around with mates thinking this is the life not thinking oh £££££££££ it was the pleasure of scoring goals and being part of a team.
boyfromburrenway, exile czech republic (25/06/2009 at 10:50)
someoen else says on this forum we should have gone for glen johnson ...again whats the message for wes brown + the brazillian kid ?
whats possebon, gibson hargreaves,fletcher park,carrick thinking now looking at the squad..never mind llajac and petrucci ....yes the team must evolve but too often last season big big squad and at times looked disjointed....as to be expected....im not a huge fan of these massive squads.....pique the perfect example....very very good player signed for barca they slapped 40 mill euos buy out clause in his contract reportedly.... buy players then clear some out..dont just stockpile them its no good for anyone...if the consensus is tosic looks lightweight put him and possebon in a loan deal to lyon ...anything s better then letting them stagnate in the stiffs.
Roy (25/06/2009 at 10:52)
Is Real doing stuff that United should be doing? They talk of making huge money on Ronaldo and his image rights, is United doing that to anywhere near the same degree with its stars? If United have such a huge fan base, could it be more commercial savvy? Maybe then it could stop hiking ticket price so relentlessly.
There, I criticised Man United - am I becoming the new Danny of Wilmslow.
Melvinho7, Gorton (25/06/2009 at 11:08)
David Hughes (25/06/2009 at 11:12)
Andy Bergen, Bergen, Norway (25/06/2009 at 11:13)
I'd also consider buying back Guiseppe Rossi if he's interested. Having four top class strikers to rotate for two or three places would make us able to last for an entire season. Great talent as Welbeck and Macheda look, they're not yet ready for regular action/the biggest matches. I'd loan Welbeck to someone who can guarantee him first choice status.
Rooney, Berbatov, Benzema and Rossi would give us a strikeforce about the same strength as last season provided Rooney and Berbatov blossom a little more when they don't have to accomodate Ronaldo as they've done for the last season(s).
PS: I'd like to see us going for Robben and Schneider as well, and possibly Huntelaar as part of a four man strikeforce.
Mick Red, London (25/06/2009 at 11:21)
I understand what you are saying, but you need to be realistic. If Utd made all there purchases public the cost would sky rocket, and the media would make every signing very difficult. Its bad enough at the moment with all the media speculation, but if they actually knew what was really going on i think it would be ridiculous!
I am confident that Utd are plotting behind the scenes and we will get what we need for next season. I know SAFs international purchases havent always been successful but over the last 20+yrs he has done the business time and time again! Lets face it when Chelsea hit pole position a couple of years back the indication was Utd were waning but were still a force to be reckoned with so trust in SAF!!
paul leigh (25/06/2009 at 11:32)
It will depend on who throws the most money at them out of the big clubs. That way they can say that they always wanted to play for that club. "It wasn't for the money" Yeah right, why can't they be honest? Of course it's not JUST about the money. They want medals too but unless you are a Paul Scholes or a Ryan Giggs it is 95% the money. All this "I want to stay another year" crap is to wack the fee, signing on fee and wage demands up. The problem is, this lot think we a desperate but they are dealing wih Ferguson, not exactly the desperate type is he?. People also forget we already have a great squad.
I can see Fergie doing a Berbatov here and waiting until they become desperate!!