Huijsen fulfils childhood dream at Real Madrid

Dean Huijsen has confirmed the shirt number he will wear at Real Madrid next season. He has chosen the historic number 4, calling it the fulfilment of a dream he had carried since childhood.

According to the Spanish newspaper Marca, the defender revealed that wearing the number 4 shirt realises a long-held dream tied directly to Sergio Ramos, his greatest childhood idol and the last prominent player to wear the number for the Whites.

As a boy, Huijsen wore Ramos' famous boots bearing the name "SR4", trying to imitate the man who became a legend at Real Madrid and in world football.

Ramos responded to Huijsen with a message of goodwill: "I hope it brings you many joys too."

Huijsen also made a point of honouring one of the most notable names to have worn the shirt, Fernando Hierro.

A special bond links him to the Malaga-born defender. They share the same region, and by his own admission that makes the legacy of the number all the more meaningful to him.

Reviewing the shirt's recent history, Huijsen did not forget David Alaba, the last man to wear the number 4 before him.

Sharing a dressing room with the Austrian defender gave Huijsen the chance to see him up close, and he praised Alaba's professionalism, his leadership and his constant readiness to help his team-mates, the qualities that defined his career with the Whites.

The centre-back knew exactly what his decision meant. He publicly thanked the club, the board, the coaching staff, his team-mates and the fans for the trust they had placed in him.

Huijsen accepts the responsibility of wearing the shirt and continuing a tradition rich with big names. He wants to write his own history, so that one day he might be judged worthy of it.

He closed his message with a clear pledge. He would give everything, every day, in training and in matches, to live up to the historic weight of a number that, at the Santiago Bernabeu, means far more than a figure on the back of a shirt.

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