Dean Huijsen: A Dream Fulfilled with Real Madrid's No. 4

Dean Huijsen didn’t just get a squad number. He inherited a storyline.

With the departures of long-serving pillars like Dani Carvajal and David Alaba at the end of the 2025-26 season, Real Madrid entered the summer knowing certain shirts would carry more than fresh ink on the team sheet. None more so than the No. 4, vacated by Alaba and weighed down by decades of defensive royalty.

Now it belongs to a 21-year-old who grew up wanting to be Sergio Ramos.

A childhood dream, now on his back

When Madrid unveiled their numbers for the new season, the announcement was routine. The reaction from Dean Huijsen was anything but.

The young centre-back went straight to social media, framing the moment not as a simple assignment, but as the fulfilment of a promise he’d made to himself as a child. His dream, he wrote, was always twofold: play for Real Madrid, and wear the No. 4. The reason was simple. Sergio Ramos.

As a boy, Huijsen laced up Ramos’ SR4 boots, trying to copy every tackle, every stride, every snarl. Now he wears the same number that once flashed across the back of the former captain, a player he called a “true legend for Real Madrid and for world football.”

The circle tightened even more when Ramos himself responded to Huijsen’s post, offering a short but pointed blessing: “I hope it brings you a lot of joy too.” For any defender, that’s a nod from the summit.

Walking a line of legends

This isn’t just about one idol. Huijsen made it clear he understands the full lineage stitched into that shirt.

Before Ramos, there was Fernando Hierro, the iron spine of Madrid in another era. Huijsen name-checked him as well, calling Hierro another legend “for Real Madrid and for soccer worldwide.” The connection runs deeper than club history: Hierro is from Málaga, just like Huijsen, a shared hometown that gives the number an extra layer of meaning for the young defender.

Then comes the most recent custodian, David Alaba. Huijsen didn’t just grow up watching the Austrian; he shared a dressing room with him last season. In his message, he spoke of the “pleasure of sharing the locker room” with Alaba and used the moment to thank the club, the president, the coach, his teammates, and the fans. It read less like a celebration of a new number and more like an acceptance speech for a role he knows is serious.

At Real Madrid, No. 4 is not a shirt. It’s a standard.

Hierro gave it authority. Ramos turned it into an icon. Alaba kept its status intact. Now Huijsen steps into that line, fully aware of the scrutiny that comes with it.

Mourinho’s new pillar in defence

The timing of this handover is no accident. Handing Huijsen the No. 4 is a clear statement from the club hierarchy and from José Mourinho: this is not a prospect to be eased in gently. This is a defender expected to anchor Madrid’s back line for years.

Huijsen, now a Spain international, is viewed inside the club as a key part of Mourinho’s defensive structure for the 2026-27 season. The number on his back underlines that faith. You don’t give No. 4 to a placeholder.

His own words match that responsibility. In his Instagram message, he acknowledged the “history filled with legends” behind the shirt and set his target plainly: to write his own story, and one day be seen as worthy of having worn it. No caveats, no hiding.

He promised something else, too: that he will give everything, every single day, in training and in matches. For Mourinho, that mentality matters as much as any tackle or interception.

A shirt heavy with history, light with possibility

Real Madrid’s No. 4 has long been one of the most recognisable numbers in the club’s modern history. Ramos made sure of that with titles, goals, and big-game moments that defined an era. Hierro had already laid the foundations with leadership and steel in the 1990s and early 2000s. Alaba added his own layer of calm versatility.

Huijsen steps into that weight with talent and personality that the club clearly believes can carry it. The shirt brings history. The player brings ambition.

From this season on, the story of Madrid’s No. 4 will no longer be about what it used to mean. It will be about whether Dean Huijsen can turn a childhood dream into the next great chapter in the Bernabéu’s defensive lineage.