Sergio Ramos wasn’t just a player and a captain for Real Madrid. He was a lot more than that. He was an emotion, he was an icon and more importantly, like Puyol for Barcelona, he was the heart of Real Madrid defence for 16 long years.
The laurels that El Capitan received at Los Blancos were too overwhelming for any other defender to outclass. When Ramos arrived at Santiago Bernabéu, he claimed the prized number 4 jersey that used to be donned on by the iconic Fernando Hierro. It was a challenge to surpass Hierro but the Spanish defender did it in style at Bernabeu. However, since his departure from Real, nobody has dared to ask for that prized number four in Real Madrid.
It isn’t just at Madrid that this feat has happened but even for the Spanish national side, nobody sought the number 15 jersey that was donned on by Sergio Ramos as an homage to Antonio Puerta. Despite Ramos not being a part of the Euro 2020 squad, that jersey remained reserved for the captain himself.
At Real Madrid, no one has shown the guts of asking the number four jersey. It is believed that David Alaba can be the perfect contender for this respective number as he will be starting his stint for Los Merengues this summer. However, it is still not clear whether he will be opting for the jersey.
Players who wore number 4 at Real Madrid
The number 4 is a gorgeous hallow in Real Madrid’s colours as it has been donned on by the likes of club legends like Ramos, Hierro, Pirri, Uli Stielike, Ricardo Rocha ad Rafael Alkorta.
Despite all the words and legends, it is quite obvious that someone will have to pick up that hallowed number and the first-team squad will have to use the numbers between 1 and 25.
Ramos’ captain’s armband has been claimed by the Brazilian left-back Marcelo who was playing the vice-captain on Ramos’ behalf in case of his absence. Benzema has been awarded the new vice-captaincy of the team and will be the likeliest contender for captaincy in more matches than Marcelo given the higher number of starts that the French striker may land.
