Huijsen Takes Real Madrid’s No. 4 Shirt – A Legacy Begins

Real Madrid have confirmed their squad numbers for the 2026-27 season, and one detail jumps off the page immediately. The No. 4 shirt, one of the most storied jerseys in the club’s history, now belongs to Huijsen.

Last season he was just another number, tucked away in the 20s with the No. 24 on his back. Now he walks into Valdebebas carrying a digit that has defined eras.

For a boy from Malaga, it means more than a simple change of kit.

From Malaga to Madrid’s most demanding shirt

Huijsen has never hidden what this moment represents. The defender, who grew up idolising Sergio Ramos, now wears the same number he once chased around playgrounds and training pitches.

“It’s always been my dream to play for Real Madrid and wear the number 4,” he wrote on social media, alongside a photo of his new shirt. Ramos was the poster on his wall, the name on his boots, the standard he tried to reach. “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.”

The connection runs deeper than Ramos. Long before the captain’s armband and Champions League finals, No. 4 belonged to Fernando Hierro, another giant of the Bernabéu and, crucially for Huijsen, 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,” he said. For a defender who grew up in the same city, that lineage is impossible to ignore.

A decisive season ahead

The romance of the number arrives at a hard-edged moment in his career. The 2026-27 campaign has been ringed in red as a decisive year for Huijsen.

His debut season in Madrid offered glimpses of what he can be: composed on the ball, aggressive in the duel, comfortable under the lights. But those flashes never quite hardened into consistency. Form dipped, minutes slipped away, and with them his place in Luis de la Fuente’s Spain squad for the World Cup.

Losing that spot hurt. It also sharpened the stakes.

The defender finished the previous campaign strongly, hinting at a corner turned. Now he has a full pre-season under José Mourinho’s notoriously demanding regime to back it up. The message from the club is clear: this is the moment to turn potential into permanence.

Huijsen knows exactly what comes with the shirt he has chosen.

“I want to thank the club, the president, the manager, the players and all the fans of this great club,” he said. “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. What I do know is that I will give everything every day, whether in training or in a match.”

No caveats. No hiding place. Not with No. 4 on your back at Real Madrid.

Following Alaba, honouring the mentors

This is not just about ghosts from the past. The shirt Huijsen now wears has only just been vacated by David Alaba, the Austrian who brought his own brand of versatility, elegance and authority to the role before deciding to leave the club.

Alaba’s influence on Huijsen ran far beyond shared training sessions.

“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. I want to thank the club, the president, the manager, the players and all the fans of this great club.”

In a few lines he captured the bridge between eras: Hierro and Ramos as the childhood heroes on television, Alaba as the everyday reference point in the dressing room. The standard is the same, only the faces change.

Now the number is his. The history is fixed; the next chapter is not.

For Huijsen, the real weight of No. 4 won’t be felt in unveiling photos or social media posts. It will be measured in how he defends a lead at the Camp Nou, how he reacts after a mistake in a Champions League knockout tie, how he carries himself when the Bernabéu demands more.

The shirt has made legends. It has also exposed those not ready for its demands.

This season will tell which side of that line Huijsen falls on.