"We are going to do everything to keep him for a little while. If our results match our ambitions, we will have the right arguments to convince him to stay. This can be a beautiful story," Aulas said.

"The competition with huge clubs is not unfair. To the contrary, the fact that clubs such as Manchester United, Inter, Real Madrid and Barcelona are interested in Karim is an honor.

"It means they are interested in OL as well."

The 21-year-old's dazzling displays with the French Ligue1 champions throughout the past couple of years drew the attention of some European powerhouses of late.

The France hotshot admitted last November that he would be tempted by a move to the Spanish Primera Liga.

Out of Market

Lyon chairman Aulas declared that the lofty €100million price tag set by the French champions for Benzema's services was meant to alienate potential suitors.

"We spoke about that sum of money in order to price him out of the market and to show we wouldn’t sell him at the end of the season," he added.

"We want to provide him with the means to succeed. We are going to do our best to bring OL, with Karim, to the roof of Europe, possibly from this year."