Atletico Madrid has given Diego Forlan permission to negotiate a possible transfer away from the Spanish club, with the Uruguay striker reportedly set to replace Samuel Eto'o at Inter Milan. Atletico says Forlan won't feature in Thursday's Europa League match at Guimaraes after asking coach Gregorio Manzano to omit him from the team “because he is evaluating the possibility of signing for another team.” Manzano approved the request. Forlan has been linked with Inter in a move dependent on Eto'o joining to Anzhi Makhachkala. The Cameroon striker signed for the Russian club Tuesday. Forlan was voted the best player at last year's World Cup and has helped Atletico to Europa League and European Supercup triumphs since joining in 2007. Netherlands on top The Netherlands took top spot at the expense of world and European champions Spain in the latest FIFA rankings released Wednesday. Spain had held the position for over a year but a 2-1 friendly loss to Italy ensured the Dutch, World Cup runner-up, become the seventh team to occupy the top spot since rankings were created after Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Copa America winner Uruguay, World Cup semifinalist, becomes the top South American team in fifth as Brazil, which was beaten 3-2 by Germany this month, dropping two places to sixth. Germany stays third and England moves up to fourth, while the make-up of the top 10 remains the same, with Italy, Portugal, Argentina and Croatia the other sides. Super Cup referee Bjorn Kuipers of the Netherlands will referee the European Super Cup match between Barcelona and FC Porto Friday. The 38-year-old Kuipers, who joined the FIFA international list of referees in 2006, was appointed by UEFA Wednesday. He handled Porto's 5-1 victory over Villarreal in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals in April. Kuipers was chosen by FIFA last season to officiate African champion TP Mazembe's 2-0 win over South America's Internacional in the Club World Cup semifinals in Abu Dhabi. UEFA's choice of Kuipers for the match in Monaco suggests he is a strong candidate to referee at the 2012 European Championship in Poland and Ukraine. Nasri's move complete Manchester City has completed the signing of Samir Nasri from Arsenal, adding the France midfielder to an expensively assembled squad already filled with attacking talent. The 24-year-old Nasri signed a four-year contract Wednesday after City paid a reported 24 million pounds ($40 million). Arsenal was compelled to sell because Nasri refused to sign a new contract and could have left on a free transfer next year when his most recent deal expired.
