Barcelona's Thiago Alcantara will be among the top five players in the world in the near future, claims Ruben Rochina

Thiago, who was the stand-out performer for Spain in the Under-21 European Championships in the summer, has lived up to the billing with some fine displays for Barcelona this season.

Bet: £5 £10 £20 £50 £100

Returns:

Bilbao £85.00

Draw £55.00

Barcelona £12.50

Bet: £5 £10 £20 £50 £100

Returns:

Bilbao £95.00

Draw £55.00

Barcelona £12.90

Bet: £5 £10 £20 £50 £100

Returns:

Bilbao £90.00

Draw £50.00

Barcelona £13.00

Bet: £5 £10 £20 £50 £100

Returns:

Bilbao £90.00

Draw £60.00

Barcelona £12.90

Bet: £5 £10 £20 £50 £100

Returns:

Bilbao £87.00

Draw £53.00

Barcelona £12.50

And it will surprise few to learn that the European champions have inserted a buy-out clause worth €90 million in the agreement which will see him stay at the club until 2015.

And, in an exclusive interview with Goal.com, Rochina has heaped praise on the 20-year-old Spain international.

“I played with him, if I remember right, for at least four or five years at Barcelona and the [junior] national team. He is just amazing and I knew that one day he would play in the [Barcelona] first team," said Rochina.

“And that’s because he’s an unbelievable player. He is very, very good and within the next two or three years, he will be one of the top five players in the world.”

Last month Manchester City’s David Silva claimed his performances at club level had no bearing on securing a starting place for the national side. He suggested that his situation could have been different had he joined either Barcelona or Real Madrid instead of a side in the Premier League.

But Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has rubbished those claims and believes that the plethora of talent at his disposal leaves him with little chance to keep everyone happy.

Rochina, who joined Blackburn earlier this year, believes that playing for a particular club does not really guarantee a berth in the national team squad.

“I don’t know if this is true. But I think not, because the 11 best players for Spain are playing in Spain at this moment.

“I don’t think that if you don’t play in Spain, or play in another country, you don’t get a chance to play in the national team. It’s not true,” he concluded.