Huijsen Embraces Real Madrid’s No. 4: A Legacy of Legends
The number came first. Before the tactics boards, before the debates about his ceiling, before the scrutiny that comes with playing for Real Madrid. For Dean Huijsen, the 2026-27 season will begin with a single, heavy digit on his back: 4.
Madrid have confirmed their squad numbers for the new campaign, and the most symbolic switch sees Huijsen move from 24 to the iconic 4, a shirt woven into the club’s modern mythology by Sergio Ramos and, before him, Fernando Hierro.
For a defender born in Malaga, that history is not a line in a media guide. It’s personal.
A childhood dream stitched into white fabric
Huijsen did not hide what this means to him. On social media, he posed with the new kit and poured out the kind of message that strips away the usual clichés and reveals a kid who once copied his heroes in the park.
“It’s always been my dream to play for Real Madrid and wear the number 4,” he wrote. Ramos was the reference point, the standard, the poster on the wall. “As a child, my biggest idol was always Sergio Ramos, who wore this number and was a true legend for Real Madrid and world football. I still remember playing in his SR4 boots because I wanted to be like him.”
Before Ramos, there was Hierro. Another No. 4. Another legend. Another son of Malaga.
“Before him, another legend like Fernando Hierro also wore this number. It makes it especially meaningful to me because he was from Malaga too, just like me,” Huijsen said.
The shirt, then, is not just an upgrade. It is a lineage. And now, it is his responsibility.
A decisive season after a turbulent debut year
The romance of the number arrives at a critical moment in Huijsen’s career. The upcoming 2026-27 campaign is widely seen inside the club as a defining one for the defender.
His first full season in the capital hinted at why Madrid brought him in: composure on the ball, the courage to step out of defence, flashes of authority in big moments. But those flashes were just that—sporadic. Consistency deserted him, and with it went his place in Luis de la Fuente’s Spain squad for the World Cup.
The drop-off hurt. For a player who had seemed on a fast track to the top, it was a sharp reminder of how unforgiving elite football can be.
Yet he did not finish the year in the shadows. A strong run of performances at the back end of the season restored some confidence, both his own and that of the coaching staff. That late surge, combined with a full pre-season under José Mourinho’s notoriously demanding regime, has changed the mood around him.
Inside Valdebebas, there is a quiet expectation: this is the year he has to turn potential into permanence.
Huijsen understands the stakes.
“I know this number has a history filled with legends, and I hope to write my own story so that one day people will consider me worthy of having worn this shirt and this number,” he said. “What I do know is that I will give everything every day, whether in training or in a match.”
No hedging. No excuses. Just a promise to work.
He also made sure to recognise those who have backed him during the bumps in the road, thanking “the club, the president, the manager, the players and all the fans of this great club.”
Following Alaba and learning from a modern great
The No. 4 at Real Madrid is not just a relic of the past. Before it became vacant, it belonged to David Alaba, the versatile Austrian who has now decided to leave the club.
Alaba’s time in Madrid may not have carried the same dramatic arc as Ramos’s, but inside the dressing room his influence ran deep. For a young defender trying to find his place, sharing a locker room with a serial winner mattered.
“After that, another great football legend, David Alaba, wore it, and I had the pleasure of sharing a dressing room with him,” Huijsen noted. “Without a doubt, he was one of the best teammates and people I have met in this sport. He always worked hard and was willing to help everyone with his experience and leadership.”
Those are not throwaway compliments. They are a glimpse into the standards Huijsen has watched up close—and now must live up to.
The Austrian’s exit opened the door. The club’s decision to hand the number to Huijsen, rather than a new signing or a more established name, is a statement in itself. It signals trust. It also removes any hiding place.
The Malaga-born defender has long dreamed of this moment: the white shirt, the No. 4, the echoes of Ramos and Hierro, the mentorship of Alaba. Now comes the part that matters most.
The number will not define him. What he does in it will.
