Barcelona may never have been here today. Not the team harboring the awesome power of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez up front. Not the club who have won four European Cups and so many domestic trophies they require a small cave rather than a mere cabinet to hold them. Irishman Patrick 'Paddy' O'Connell is credited with rescuing Barcelona from extinction . The awesome trio of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez may not have been assembled if not for O'Connell . Not Luis Enrique's side who are aiming to knock Manchester City out of the last 16 of the Champions League. All of that is unlikely to have existed were it not for Irishman Patrick 'Paddy' O'Connell, who as a player captained the red side of Manchester during five years at United from 1914 but has inadvertently played a crucial role in setting up City's two-legged fixture with Barcelona a century later. O'Connell is credited with rescuing Barcelona from extinction during his time in charge between 1935 and 1940. Barcelona have enjoyed great success in recent years but it was O'Connell that saved the club . In Spain, he became known as 'Don Patricio' - a title reserved for royalty or noblemen - for his successes after moving over aged 35 and first leading Racing de Santander to five regional titles before becoming one of the founding members of La Liga. He took charge at Real Oviedo and then won the Spanish title at Real Betis, but his greatest legacy was shaped when Barcelona came calling. After just one season at the Catalan club, the Spanish Civil War broke out in July 1936 and the country was in chaos. O'Connell (back row, far right) pictured for Ireland against Wales in 1914/1915 . On the streets of Barcelona, anarchy was escalating. As the tanks rolled in, football was flattened in the country. La Liga was suspended and, despite playing in and winning the Mediterranean League, cash was running out fast. The club were facing financial ruin. O'Connell orchestrated himself and the players taking a huge wage cut - reducing his salary by a third from $1,500 to $1,000 - but Barcelona were still heading out of business, until the wily Irishman had a bright idea. Barcelona celebrate with the Champions League trophy following victory over Manchester United in 2009 . Former Barcelona captain and defender Carles Puyol  holds the Champions League trophy in Rome . He took the team on a tour of Mexico and America, playing 14 games and raising $5,000 - the equivalent of $83,000 today. It was little, but enough to survive. By the time the war ended in April 1939, O'Connell had dragged the team back from the brink of oblivion. Why then would this Barca legend  come to die alone and penniless in London 20 years later? While O'Connell is remembered so fondly in those sunnier climes, on our own shores an entirely different character is recalled by those he should have loved dearest. 'He was the hero in one way but also the swine who left his family in poverty,' his grandson Mike remembered. 'There are two sides to it, a sad family story, but I'm proud he was my grandfather.' O'Connell (back row, one from the left) as part of the Hull City team in 1913-14 . O'Connell was a gambler and a misogynist; a chancer, swindler and trickster. He played for Belfast Celtic, Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City before impressing Manchester United enough for them to pay £1,000 for his services in May 1914. The same year he captained Ireland to the British Home Championship, playing the final game against Scotland with a broken arm. O'Connell was a brash, brazen, no-nonsense centre-back and was made captain of United straight away. However, the first season was a catastrophe and they avoided relegation from Division One by a single point. Even worse - a victory against Liverpool in April was deemed fixed. Puyol holds up the Club World Cup trophy after victory against Santos FC at the tournament in Yokohama . Sandy Turnbull and Enoch 'Knocker' West photographed in 'cricketing' pose at Old Trafford in 1911 . The First World War had broken out and no football was to be played the following season. A group of United and Liverpool players, fearing unemployment and what the future held, met in a pub the day before the game and agreed to the more unlikely 2-0 United win and bet on it at odds of seven-to-one. The scam was uncovered when the Football Association investigated claims of a lack of effort from Liverpool players. United's Sandy Turnbull, Enoch West, Arthur Whalley, and Liverpool's Thomas Fairfoul, Tom Miller, Bob Pursell and Jackie Sheldon were banned indefinitely by the FA. Former Barca man Cesc Fabregas holds the  UEFA Super Cup after beating Porto at Louis II Stadium . Bob Pursell was banned after rigging a game to win money when Liverpool faced Manchester United . Liverpool's Jackie Sheldon was one of those players banned indefinitely by the FA . Liverpool's Thomas Fairfoul was also banned for his part in the corrupt game between the rival teams . O'Connell struck a penalty well wide with the score at 2-0, but somehow avoided punishment. Yet O'Connell's family admit that maverick streak ran through him. It was these scrapes and scraps which shaped an eventual legend. 'He was an incredible success as a footballer but as a man he was probably a bit of loveable rogue,' Mike's wife Sue explained. 'As a father he was a non-starter.' He remained a United player through the war and after it ended had a year at Dumbarton before moving to Ashington in 1920. David Beckham is one of 40 players who have supported a fund  to raise money for a fitting memorial . O'Connell was determined to find success in football and would let nothing stand in his way. Not even family. He left his wife Ellen at Newcastle station in 1920 after she had travelled there to plead with him to return home. It was the last time O'Connell would see her and he married again in Spain, another Irishwoman called Ellen. At Ashington, he was made player-manager and had his first taste in running a club, before the sniff of adventure took him abroad. Johan Cruyff has also supported the plea to get O'Connell a more fitting memorial following his death . But for all his heroics in Spain, when O'Connell returned to England in 1958 he faded into destitution before he died in London a year later where he remains in an unmarked grave. Last year, a fund was set up to raise money for a more fitting memorial. So far, more than 40 notable football names have supported it, including Sir Bobby Charlton, Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Paolo Maldini and David Beckham. There is a bust of O'Connell in the FC Barcelona Museum. There, he will always be remembered as the man who saved the club. AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini is one of more than 40 players to support the memorial idea .
Patrick O'Connell is credited with rescuing Barcelona from extinction . Irishman was in charge of the Catalan club between 1935 and 1940 . He is known as 'Don Patricio' in Spain, meaning royalty or noblemen . Barcelona were saved when he arranged a tour of Mexico to raise cash .