Sakho has fallen out of favour with Roy Hodgson at Crystal Palace and has not played a league game since a late cameo against Fulham in October.
He is out of contract in the summer, but the defender is believed to be pushing for a move in the ongoing transfer window as he wants to play more football in the latter half of the season.
A move back to France has been mooted and there are claims that Nice are interested in signing the former PSG defender this month.
But Rivere has cooled the speculation about a move for Sakho and indicated that some players are linked with the club that come as a complete surprise.
Asked about the links with Sakho, the Nice president told a press conference: “You know there is a journalist who puts out names like that from time to time.
“The minimum you can do is to call us and ask us the question.
“There are names who are come out, we do not know how.”
When pressed again to answer whether Sakho will be a Nice player, Rivere said: “I just answered you.”
Sakho has also been linked with a move within the Premier League with West Brom believed to be interested in him.
