NSW Waratahs coach Michael Cheika has lashed out at the Melbourne Rebels management for claiming Wallabies star Kurtley Beale wasn’t wanted at the Super Rugby club.

The Waratahs are hoping to announce Beale’s return to Sydney in the coming days and Cheika questioned why the Rebels had released a statement on Saturday saying they hadn’t offered a contract to the 24-year-old for 2014.

Fellow Wallaby James O’Connor and coach Damien Hill were both shown the door by Melbourne earlier in the week but Cheika didn’t believe Beale fell into that category despite the playmaker being stood down twice this season for breaching behavioural guidelines.

Beale managed just four games after being sent home from South Africa for punching two teammates in a drunken altercation, which coach Hill said was a contributing factor to his own job loss.

Rebels chief executive Rob Clarke said both parties agreed that it was best Beale remained in Sydney, paving the way for him to sign with the Waratahs, where he spent five seasons between 2007-11.

“Kurtley will continue his off-field program in Sydney and the Rebels believe that he should remain there supported by his family network,” Clarke said.

He said he believed Beale was serious about his alcohol treatment and that it didn’t contribute to the Rebels’ decision to cut the him loose.

But he added: “We are setting very clear expectations about what we want on and off the field”.

Cheika, though, felt it was more a case of sour grapes from the Rebels after apparently losing out to the Waratahs in the quest for Beale’s services for next season.

“He’s another guy who nobody wants by the sound of it,” Cheika said after the Waratahs’ season-ending 14-12 loss to the Queensland Reds on Saturday night.

“I noticed that come out from Melbourne. I think that’s a little bit disappointing to be honest, that they’d put that out because their captain was out saying a couple of days before saying we want him to stay here and (that) we could play with him no drama.

“So maybe the fact that that they didn’t get him, they put that out to go against the bloke to make him look like he’s no good – and I think that’s that’s really bad karma.

“I think it’s very different to the situation with James O’Connor. They’re trying to turn … I don’t know, they’re not telling the truth.”

Cheika has made no secret of the Waratahs’ desire to regain Beale after he left Sydney for the Rebels two years ago.

An announcement may come next week on their efforts to retain dual international Israel Folau.