Dean Huijsen: A Legacy in the No. 4 Shirt at Real Madrid
Dean Huijsen didn’t just get a squad number. He walked into a legacy.
With the departures of senior figures like Dani Carvajal and David Alaba at the end of the 2025-26 season, Real Madrid’s dressing room shifted. Among the details that matter in Madrid’s world of symbols and status, one stood out: the No. 4 shirt was free.
Now it belongs to a 21-year-old centre-back who grew up wanting nothing else.
A childhood dream, now on his back
When Real Madrid unveiled their squad numbers, Dean Huijsen’s name next to the No. 4 immediately drew attention. That number is heavy at this club. It has history, personality, scars, and silverware stitched into it.
Huijsen didn’t hide what it meant. On social media, he called it the fulfilment of a childhood dream, tying it directly to the man who defined the shirt for his generation: Sergio Ramos.
"It was always my dream to play for Real Madrid and wear the number 4. When I was a kid, my biggest idol was Sergio Ramos, who wore the number 4 and was a true legend for Real Madrid and for world football," he wrote.
This wasn’t a casual nod. As a boy, Huijsen laced up Ramos’ SR4 boots, trying to move like him, defend like him, live up to the image of the captain who dominated nights at the Santiago Bernabéu.
"I still remember playing in his cleats, the SR4s, because I wanted to be just like him."
Now he doesn’t just wear a similar pair of boots. He wears the same number on the same shirt, in the same stadium, under the same unforgiving spotlight.
Ramos, Hierro, Alaba – and now Huijsen
The reaction from Ramos himself underlined how much this means. The former captain responded to Huijsen’s announcement, offering a simple, pointed message:
"I hope it brings you a lot of joy too," Ramos wrote.
The baton, symbolically at least, has been passed.
But at Real Madrid, the No. 4 doesn’t start and end with Ramos. Huijsen knows that. In his message, he widened the lens, name-checking another towering figure in the club’s defensive history: Fernando Hierro.
"Before him, another football legend, Fernando Hierro, wore that number for Real Madrid and for soccer worldwide, but it feels even more special to me because he's from Málaga, just like me," he wrote.
The connection is personal and geographical. Hierro, the old defensive general from Málaga. Huijsen, the new Spain international with the same hometown roots, stepping into the same shirt.
Then comes the more recent past. David Alaba, who took the number after Ramos and brought his own blend of calm, versatility, and leadership to the role. Huijsen made sure to include him as well.
"Later, another great football legend wore it, and I had the pleasure of sharing the locker room with him. I want to thank the club, the president, the coach, the players, and all the fans of this great club."
He isn’t just inheriting a number from a distance. He has already lived alongside one of its previous owners, studied him at close quarters, watched how a world-class defender carries that weight every day.
A shirt that demands character
At most clubs, a number is admin. At Real Madrid, certain numbers are statements. The No. 4 is one of them.
Hierro gave it authority. Ramos turned it into a global brand. Alaba kept it at the heart of the back line in a new era. That lineage makes Huijsen’s promotion more than a cosmetic change.
Real Madrid have effectively nailed their colours to this young defender. They have made it clear he is not just another squad option for José Mourinho; he is expected to be a pillar.
Huijsen seems acutely aware of what he is walking into.
"I know this jersey number has a history filled with legends, and I hope I can write my own story—and that one day people will consider me worthy of having worn this jersey and this number.
What I do know is that I'll give it my all every single day, whether it's in training or in a match."
No promises, no guarantees. Just a pledge of work and ambition, which is exactly what this shirt demands.
Mourinho’s new cornerstone?
From the club’s side, handing the No. 4 to a 21-year-old is a loud vote of confidence. This is not a number they park on the bench. It belongs on the pitch, in the spine of the team, in the thick of decisive moments.
Huijsen now steps into Mourinho’s defensive structure with expectation wrapped around him. The coach is building a back line that needs presence, personality, and reliability. The young centre-back has been earmarked as a key part of that plan for the 2026-27 campaign.
He has the talent. He has the personality. He clearly understands the symbolism.
The shirt comes with history. From this season on, it also comes with a question: how far can Dean Huijsen take the story of Real Madrid’s No. 4?
