to English side Coventry City, signing for £2.6 million from Real Betis. However, when Real Madrid decided they wanted the player, they successfully bought him from Coventry for £3.4 million with Jarni having made no appearances whatsoever. Some believe this was a joint Coventry City and Real Madrid tactic, as Betis refused to sell him to the Madrid club. At Real Madrid, Jarni struggled to get his place in the starting line-up and often found himself receiving little playing time as a substitute, although he did manage to finish the season with a total of 27 Primera División appearances on his tally. His only league goal for Real Madrid came in their 5–1 win at Extremadura on 31 October 1998, when he netted the opening goal of the match in the first minute. One of the highlights of his spell with Real Madrid came 10 days earlier in their third UEFA Champions League group match that season, when he netted a brace in their 6–1 win at home to Sturm Graz. In the summer of 1999, Jarni left Real Madrid for Segunda División side Las Palmas, going on to help the club gain promotion to the Primera División for the 2000–01 season, which saw him making another 26 appearances in the Spanish top flight, scoring two goals. After losing his place as a regular at Las Palmas and making no appearances for the club in the first half of the 2001–02 season, Jarni went on to move to Greek side Panathinaikos on 30 January 2002, signing a short-term contract until the end of the season. Jarni only appeared in 5 matches for Panathinaikos in the Greek league, although he also made 3 appearances for the club in the UEFA Champions League in February and March 2002. Despite his remarkable performances, he was ruled out due to a serious head injury due to excessive zeal in a match against Porto. His contract was not renewed at the end of the season and he subsequently retired from professional football as a player, aged 33. International career As a youngster, Jarni played for the Yugoslav national under-21 football team. He was part of the Yugoslav squad that won the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship in Chile, alongside his future Croatia team-mates Davor Šuker, Zvonimir Boban, Robert Prosinečki and Igor Štimac. In 1990, Jarni became a full international with Yugoslavia. He won seven international