Gareth Bale asked not to be included in Real Madrid's squad for their Champions League last-16 tie with Manchester City, says head coach Zinedine Zidane.
His omission from a 24-man travelling party for Friday's second leg at the Etihad has further fuelled speculation that he could leave the club.
The Wales forward, 31, did not play a single minute of Real's final six LaLiga matches as they pipped Barcelona to the title, and was left out of the squad for the final game of the season.
"It was a personal conversation I had with him. He preferred not to play. The rest remains between me and him but he said he didn’t want to play," said Zidane.
“I answered before to explain the situation and I don’t want to add anything else. The rest is a private conversation between player and coach. There is nothing else to add.”
Asked if Bale had a future at Real, Zidane said: “I don’t know. Now he is a current player at Real Madrid. That has not changed. He is our player. I respect that and I respect him, like everyone else.
"He preferred not to play. That is the only thing I can tell you. The rest of us are all here, preparing for the game. The only thing we are concentrating on is the game.”
Bale has become a peripheral figure at the Bernabeu after falling out of favour under Zidane and came close to a big-money move to the Chinese Super League last summer.
But that deal collapsed at the last moment when Madrid demanded a transfer fee, and with the Welshman currently earning a reported £350k per week no club has emerged as a realistic exit strategy.