Dean Huijsen Embraces the Historic Number 4 at Real Madrid

At Real Madrid, some numbers are just digits. Others carry history on their back.

Dean Huijsen has chosen the latter.

The young centre-back has confirmed he will wear the number 4 shirt next season at the Santiago Bernabeu, stepping into one of the most storied jerseys in the club’s modern era. For him, it is not a marketing choice or a random allocation. It is the end of a childhood dream.

From the moment he first watched Sergio Ramos dominate in white, Huijsen attached his ambitions to that number. As a boy he laced up the same model of boots, the ones stamped with “SR4”, and tried to copy every tackle, every leap, every celebration of the man who became an icon for both Real Madrid and world football. Now, he will walk into the Bernabeu with the same number on his back.

Ramos, the standard-bearer for that shirt for over a decade, did not let the moment pass in silence. He sent Huijsen a simple message of goodwill: “I hope it brings you many joys too.” Short, but loaded with meaning from a captain who knows exactly what that number demands.

Huijsen’s choice is not just about one idol, though. He has been careful to frame it as a tribute to a lineage. He highlighted Fernando Hierro, another towering figure in Madrid’s defensive history, as a reference point. The connection is more than symbolic. Hierro is Malaga-born, and Huijsen feels a particular bond with him through that shared region, adding a layer of personal pride to the weight of the shirt.

He has also lived the number 4 story from inside the dressing room. David Alaba, the last man to wear it, has been a daily example at Valdebebas. Huijsen has spoken of the Austrian’s professionalism, his leadership and his constant willingness to help team-mates — traits that have defined Alaba’s time with the club as much as any trophy or highlight reel moment. Watching that up close has given the young defender a clear picture of what is expected when you pull on that shirt.

This is not a decision taken lightly. Huijsen understands exactly what he is stepping into. In his message he made a point of thanking the club, the board, the coaching staff, his team-mates and the fans for the trust they have placed in him, aware that wearing number 4 at Real Madrid is as much a responsibility as it is an honour.

He does not hide from that responsibility. He embraces it. He wants to add his own chapter to a number already etched with some of the greatest names in the club’s history, to reach a point where his performances are judged alongside theirs and found worthy.

And so he has set his own standard. Huijsen closed with a clear promise: he will give everything, every day, in training and in matches, to live up to the historic weight of that shirt. At the Bernabeu, number 4 is not just a figure on a squad list. It is a statement. Now it is his turn to prove he belongs in it.