FC Barcelona's Thiago Alcantara: Is He as Good as Cesc Fabregas?

Is Thiago Alcantara better than Cesc Fabregas? I recently had a rather lively debate with an FC Barcelona fan on this very subject. For those who have been around Bleacher Report for while know that I am an Arsenal fan. But that fact has little bearing on my opinion in this case. 

Recently Thiago has made headlines for his performances with Spain U21 side. He honestly looks like a fantastic prospect for FC Barcelona should they offer Thaigo a good shot at the first team. He scored the winning goal in the U21 European Championship final against Switzerland. It was a spectacular goal, and one that should have everyone, especially the board and coaches at FC Barcelona keeping a keen eye on Thaigo’s development.

If anything Thiago’s recent performances should have put to rest whatever it is in the hearts of Rosell and Pep that brings about their obsession with Cesc Fabregas. The club would be stupid to let whatever sentimental or political motives they have push Thaigo out of the club and incur the debt from the Cesc transfer.

We must give Thaigo credit where it is due; he is very talented and has a lot of similarities to Xavi. He could in fact take up Xavi’s mantel as ‘midfield boss’ at FC Barcelona. But one of my fellow writers at BarcaBlaugranes made a claim in a recent article that I just had to respond to.

He said, "I genuinely believe that Thiago is a better player than Fabregas now, in the present day."

My full counter claim can be found here. I'd really appreciate it if you all took a look at it and let your voice be heard, the more opinions the merrier.

If any of our B/R regulars have been wondering where I've been, BarcaBlaugranes is the place. And no this does not mean that I've switched teams. I'm there so that statements like the one above do not go un-countered.