Andrés Roca Rey held out his cape to the bull, but instead the bull rushed into his stomach and pinned him against the wall
A 26-year-old bullfighter , nicknamed the «Messi among the matadors», was injured in an incident that raised fears for the future of one of the sport's last remaining superstars.
Andrés Roca Rey, a darling of the Spanish media who was romantically involved with King Felipe VI's niece, has been hospitalized with severe bruising.
Video footage shows the Peruvian holding out a bullfighter's cape to a half-ton bull, which lunges before turning on the at the last second and dug his horns into his stomach.
Bull, having already been stabbed in the back several times with banderilles, tosses Mr. Rock Ray into the air like a doll before crushing him into a red-soft barrier.
As several men rushed into the ring to try and drag the star to safety, a 467kg bull named Viruta speared another famous matador, Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez. 
Daniel Gonzalez, a bullfighting fan, tweeted: «I'm still in shock after what we saw in Santander.»
Known for his daring style in the ring Mr. Roca Rey is the biggest star in the world of bullfighting, who is still capable of filling stadiums wherever he is.
“He is like Messi or Ronaldo in the bullfighting world. No one has as much recognition as he does, and no one can put together bullrings wherever he fights,” Antonio Lorca, bullfighting critic for El País, Spain’s best-selling newspaper, told The Telegraph.
Much like Messi, the Argentine who left for Spain when he was 13, Mr. Roca Rey was brought to the country when he was a child to continue his career as a bullfighter. He is now a Spanish citizen.
According to doctors at the arena, Mr. Roca Rey suffered multiple bruises on his face, neck, right thigh and left knee.
He underwent a scan at the hospital on Wednesday to see if he had any other injuries as a result of butting.
Viewers said it was the worst beating the star has received in her eight-year career. But they hoped that he would recover, as he had from previous bruises.
Mr Roca Rey was brought to Spain when he was a child to continue his career as a bullfighter. Photo: GAIZKA IROZ/AFP
Mr. Roca Rey was injured five times in his first five fights, causing The Sun to publish a video of him. exploits in 2016 under the headline «World's Worst Bullfighter Fails Again».
In 2021, he told The Critic that he would not stop taking risks in the ring, likening a relationship with a bull to a relationship between lovers.
“If you give yourself 100% to the other person, you may get more out of the relationship, but you may also suffer more. It's the same in the arena,” he said.
Last year he was gored at a fight in Bilbao, northern Spain, but against the advice of doctors, he continued the fight and was carried out through the front door. the ring on the shoulders of the fans is an honor in the world of bullfighting.
The Peruvian is believed to receive six-figure fees for his performances in Europe and South America, but these contracts have never been disclosed.
Mr. Roca Ray says he won't stop taking risks in the ring. Photo: Ruben Albarran/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
His father, Fernando Roca-Rey Muller, was a matador like his great-grandfather.
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He described his The Critic style as «absolutely serious».< /p>
«You adapt to different arenas and different crowds, but your soul is always free,» he said.
«Ignore triumphs, beatings, pain — pain in your bones, pain in your mind».
With 250,000 followers on Instagram, where he describes himself as an «artist», Mr. Roca Rey has denied rumors that he is dating Victoria de Marichalar, King Felipe VI's niece.
A once-popular piece of Spanish mainstream. culture, matadors were considered the pop stars of the time and celebrated in the media.
Andres Roca Rey is the biggest star in world of bullfighting. Photo: GAIZKA IROZ/AFP
In recent years, the popularity of this pastime has waned due to the economic damage caused by the pandemic, more choice of ways to spend free time and the rise of the animal rights movement in Spain.
Number According to the Spanish Ministry of Culture, the number of bullfighting has increased up 14% over the past two years from 824 in 2021 to 1,546 last year as the sector recovered from the pandemic.
However, this is a minority. . According to government statistics, only two percent of Spaniards attended a bullfight in the 2021-2022 season, but among them, teenagers aged 15-19 made up the largest group.
Canal Toros, Spain's largest private TV channel with subscribers dedicated to the show bullfighting closed in March, which animal rights activists say is a sign of the controversial pastime's declining popularity.
The channel was unable to negotiate the biggest bullfight in Spain, which is also watched by fans in the UK, Latin America and USA.
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