Dean Huijsen Takes the No. 4 Shirt at Real Madrid

Dean Huijsen didn’t just get a new number. He stepped into a lineage.

With the 2025-26 season over and senior figures like Dani Carvajal and David Alaba moving on, Real Madrid’s dressing room has shifted. Among the vacant shirts, one carried a different kind of weight. No. 4. Alaba’s old number. Sergio Ramos’ old number. Fernando Hierro’s before that.

Now it belongs to a 21-year-old centre-back who grew up dreaming of exactly this.

A boy who wore SR4

When Real Madrid confirmed their squad numbers, Dean Huijsen saw his name next to the No. 4 and went straight to social media. The message was clear: this was not just a shirt, it was the realisation of a childhood obsession.

"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 empty rhetoric. As a boy, Huijsen laced up Ramos’ SR4 boots, trying to copy every tackle, every leap, every celebration.

"I still remember playing in his cleats, the SR4s, because I wanted to be just like him."

Now he walks into the same stadium, with the same number on his back, asked to anchor a defence coached by Jose Mourinho. It is a romantic storyline, but also a demanding one.

Ramos himself noticed. The former captain replied to Huijsen’s announcement with a simple, pointed line: "I hope it brings you a lot of joy too."

Hierro, Alaba and a heavy shirt

Huijsen didn’t stop at Ramos when he paid tribute to the shirt’s history. He widened the lens.

Before Ramos, No. 4 belonged to Fernando Hierro, one of the great defensive leaders in Real Madrid’s modern era. Huijsen made sure to name him, and highlighted a personal detail that makes that connection feel even closer.

"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.

That shared hometown adds another layer. No. 4 at Madrid is not just a symbol of defensive excellence; for Huijsen, it now ties together idols, geography and ambition.

Then there is Alaba, the man who wore the shirt most recently and with whom Huijsen shared a dressing room last season. The young defender made sure to acknowledge that too.

"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."

Different eras, different profiles, same number. Hierro, Ramos, Alaba. Now Huijsen.

A number that demands character

At Real Madrid, some shirts are just identifiers. No. 4 is not one of them.

Hierro turned it into a symbol of authority and goals from the back. Ramos turned it into one of the most recognisable numbers in world football, a shirt associated with late winners, red cards, headers in finals, and a relentless refusal to lose. Alaba brought elegance and versatility to the role.

Huijsen knows all of this. His Instagram message read like someone fully aware of the history he is stepping 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."

That line matters. At a club where numbers can weigh almost as much as trophies, attitude often decides who thrives and who gets swallowed by expectation.

Mourinho’s new pillar

From the club’s side, this is not a sentimental gesture. Handing No. 4 to Huijsen is a statement of faith.

Real Madrid do not give iconic shirts to squad fillers. They give them to players they expect to define cycles. At 21, Huijsen is being positioned as a central piece in Mourinho’s defensive structure for the 2026-27 campaign.

He has the size, the technical quality and, by all accounts, the personality to grow into the role. The number on his back will not win a tackle or organise a back line, but it will follow him into every duel, every mistake, every big night under the lights.

The shirt comes with history. From this season on, it also comes with his name. Now the question is simple and ruthless, the kind that fits a club like Real Madrid: can Dean Huijsen turn a childhood dream into a legacy of his own?