Dean Huijsen Embraces the Historic Number 4 at Real Madrid

At Real Madrid, some numbers are just digits. And then there is the 4.

Dean Huijsen has chosen that weighty piece of history for his back next season, and he did it with the conviction of someone who has been rehearsing this moment since childhood. For him, this isn’t a squad number. It’s the end of a boyhood dream and the start of a very public examination.

The young defender confirmed he will wear the historic 4 at the Santiago Bernabéu, a shirt that for his generation is inseparable from one name: Sergio Ramos. Speaking to Marca, Huijsen made it clear this decision is rooted in the years when he was just another kid trying to copy his idol, lacing up boots stamped with “SR4” and pretending he was the man who defined an era in Madrid’s defence.

Those boots have become reality’s shirt.

Ramos, never indifferent to matters of legacy, responded with a simple but pointed message of support: “I hope it brings you many joys too.” From a player who turned the 4 into a symbol of leadership, defiance and decisive goals, the blessing carries weight. It reads almost like a passing of the torch, even if it’s from a distance.

Huijsen’s choice, though, is not only about Ramos. He made sure to name-check another titan of Madrid’s defensive lineage: Fernando Hierro. The connection is personal. Both come from the same region, a shared origin that, in Huijsen’s eyes, tightens the emotional bond with the shirt. When he talks about the 4, he isn’t just listing legends; he is aligning himself with a line of defenders who shaped the club’s identity from the back.

He also paused on the most recent chapter of that story: David Alaba. The Austrian was the last to wear the number before him, and Huijsen has seen his influence from inside the dressing room. He highlighted Alaba’s professionalism, his leadership, his constant willingness to help team-mates. Those traits, he suggested, are as much a part of the number’s legacy as any trophy or tackle.

This is not a naïve teenager picking a cool number off a list. Huijsen knows exactly what he is stepping into.

He publicly thanked the club hierarchy, the coaching staff, his colleagues and the fans for the trust they have shown in handing him such a shirt. That kind of gratitude is standard in modern football, but the way he framed it made one thing clear: he understands that the 4 at Real Madrid comes with expectation built in. It demands presence, personality, and a level of consistency that leaves no hiding place.

So he has set his own bar high. Huijsen spoke of accepting the responsibility, of wanting to write his own history rather than simply living in the shadow of others. One day, he hopes, his name will be mentioned in the same breath as Ramos, Hierro and Alaba when people talk about the number’s great custodians.

For now, all he can offer is a promise. He closed his message with a pledge to give everything, every day, in training and in matches, to honour the weight of that shirt. At the Bernabéu, the 4 has never been just a number. It is a standard.

Now it’s Huijsen’s turn to see if he can live up to it.