Charity begins at home: Mohamed Salah’s foundation in Egypt deals with hundreds of cases, mostly widows, orphans and those with special needs, at £2,500 a month

The microbus from Ramses Square is a sardine can on wheels; 14 passengers packed in a small metal vessel dodging through Cairo’s swarming streets. No suspension. Egyptians joke “business class” is the seat by the driver — you don’t sit above the rattling engine there.

From Ramses down alleys to the Nasr City highway. Stop by the flyover at district seven. A 15-minute journey that takes double in traffic. For Mohamed Salah the road to Kiev began here.

Nasr 7th district houses El Mokawloon, the Arab Contractors club, Salah’s first pro team. He joined aged 13 and the Ramses microbus was the last leg of the extraordinary trek he made. His was a road from nowhere. He started in his village, Nagrig, attending school from