West Ham manager Mauricio Pellegrini admits he didn't always have control of team selection at Real Madrid.

Pellegrini admitted his main discussions with the club hierarchy were regarding those who were urged to always start.

"One of the discussions I had most often with the leaders of Real Madrid was on the performance of the players," Pellegrini told El Mercurio.

"They told me that some had to play no matter what, but I never compromised."

Pellegrini, who led Los Blancos in the 2009/10 season also spoke very highly of former players Cristiano Ronaldo and Raul, while revealing the most difficult footballer to work with.

"During my career, the easiest players to lead were Cristiano and Raul, no matter how much they won, they were excellent athletes," he explained.

"The most complicated was Juan Roman Riquelme."