David Beckham's contract at Real Madrid will not be renewed, according to the club's sporting director Predrag Mijatovic.
Beckham's current deal expires in the summer and Mijatovic told Sky Italia that the former England captain would not be offered fresh terms.
Mijatovic said: "Beckham will leave us. We will not renew his contract.''
Real had previously stated their desire to resolve the long-running Beckham contract issue one way or the other by the end of next week, and further talks were thought to be due to take place.
But Mijatovic has decided to curtail negotiations with immediate effect.
Beckham joined Real in July 2003 from Manchester United and was quickly labelled as a 'galactico'. But he has failed to land a trophy at the Bernabeu.
Clubs from across Europe and the United States are believed to be monitoring Beckham's situation and may now make their move.
It is understood there is firm interest from clubs in England, Italy, France and the United States, and Beckham's representatives have been free to speak to other clubs from January 1.
Beckham's primary concerns are making sure that wherever he is he will get regular playing time, having been a bit-part player for the Spanish giants so far this season, and making sure his next move is the right one for his young family.
Mijatovic's declaration ties in with Real coach Fabio Capello's squad announcement for Thursday's Copa del Rey game with Real Betis, where Beckham was one of six senior players who had been left out.
Beckham, along with Ronaldo, Antonio Cassano, Michel Salgado, Francisco Pavon and Alvaro Mejia, were omitted from Capello's 18-man squad for technical reasons.
The news about Beckham and Capello's decision to leave out some of his senior players for the Betis game comes in the wake of Monday's emergency meeting, where the coach met with Real president Ramon Calderon, Mijatovic and technical secretary Franco Baldini to discuss the club's poor form.
Real have lost three of their last four league matches, with the latest setback coming on Sunday when they were beaten 2-0 by a Deportivo La Coruna side which had previously gone nine games without a victory.
Mijatovic revealed after the meeting that the problems facing Real had been pinpointed, and solutions devised that would be implemented over time.
Capello did not go into detail about his decision to omit Beckham, Ronaldo and co for the cup match during his press conference on Wednesday, instead saying he would be giving some new faces a chance to shine.
"Tomorrow we are going to see some small changes, we are going to put out some different players,'' the Italian said.
"In the last two games, we have lost the character and desire which we had up until that point.
"That is what has annoyed me most. When I arrived I said we had to fight for the shirt, recover our values and I have not seen this.
"We have taken measures to solve this.
"One of them is to train behind closed doors in order to have total concentration.
"We have analysed a lot of things and what has happened on the last few games.''
So what do we think? Are Becks playing days over? SHoudl he think about a new career?