The Greatest Bullfighter Alive Came Out of Retirement and a Bull Named Clandestino Ended It With Brutal Goring

Spain's greatest bullfighter just came out of retirement to a hero's welcome.

Then a bull named Clandestino gored him somewhere no man wants to think about.

He called it the most painful moment of his life – and the medical report is worse.

The King of the Ring

Morante de la Puebla is not just a famous bullfighter.

He is the once-in-a-generation artist whose performances left critics reaching for words like "mysticism" and "supernatural."

In 2023, he became the first matador in 50 years to receive a bull's tail in Seville – the highest honor in the tradition.

One reviewer called his performance "an act of improvisation by an artist who is not of this world."

Another said it would not be surprising "if a religion were founded in his honor."

Last October, after triumphing at Madrid's Las Ventas bullring, he walked out and cut off his ponytail – bullfighting's ultimate symbol of retirement.

The bullfighting world was devastated.

The Comeback That Had All of Seville Talking

Morante's return this spring was the most anticipated comeback the sport had seen in years.

Sold-out crowds packed the historic Maestranza arena night after night.

He was drawing younger fans who had never seen him perform live.

Then on Monday evening, he had already cleared three bulls when the fourth – Clandestino – charged without warning.

The moment his back was exposed, it was over.

https://twitter.com/CerfiaFR/status/2046627269687611645

The horn drove into Morante's rectum, perforating it and partially destroying the sphincter muscles.

The wound measured nearly four inches deep.

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Two Hours on the Operating Table

Surgeons worked on Morante for more than two hours.

Doctors called the injury "very serious."

From his hospital bed, Morante described the moment of impact: "I was in immense pain, felt a lot of fear because I saw the bull had grabbed me and I thought I was bleeding."

He only relaxed when he got to hospital and saw there was minimal blood.

The medical report told a different story: a 10-centimeter wound to the posterior anal margin, partial damage to the sphincter muscles, and a 1.5-centimeter perforation in the posterior wall of the rectum.

He has lost sleep.

He has no appetite.

He is getting through it, he says, "with a bit of patience."

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Then It Happened Again

Three days after Morante went down – at the exact same arena, during the exact same Seville festival – the second matador was gored.

Peruvian bullfighter Andrés Roca Rey, 29 and widely considered the most exciting active fighter in the world, was working his fifth bull Thursday when the animal drove its left horn into the upper portion of his right thigh.

The wound: 35 centimeters – nearly 14 inches – tearing through two major muscle groups and nearly shredding the femoral neurovascular bundle along its entire length.

He was lucky a major artery wasn't severed.

His condition was classified as "very serious."

Two of the world's greatest bullfighters, same ring, same week, both in surgery.

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Why This Matters Beyond the Arena

Bullfighting is already under siege in Spain.

Pedro Sánchez's socialist government scrapped the national bullfighting prize – stripping one of the sport's most historic honors out of pure ideological spite.

Polls show 77 percent of Spaniards now consider bullfighting "unacceptable."

Among Spaniards under 35, that number climbs to 80 percent.

This is what the left does everywhere it gains power: it goes after tradition, culture, and identity – slowly at first, then all at once.

Morante saw it coming.

He has been a prominent supporter of Vox – Spain's nationalist conservative party – and a close friend of its leader Santiago Abascal.

He understood that the bullfight was not just entertainment.

It was a statement about what Spain is and who gets to decide.

Now Spain's greatest fighter lies in a hospital bed recovering from the worst injury of a brutal career – while the government that despises everything he represents controls the culture around him.

The bull doesn't always win.

But this time, it came close.

Sources:

• Amy Furr, "WATCH: Spain's 'King of Bullfighters' Suffers Rectal Goring Injury During Match in Seville," Breitbart, April 23, 2026.
• "Spain's 'Greatest Matador' Gored by Bull in Comeback from Retirement," Irish Times, April 21, 2026.
• "Watch: Star Matador Roca Rey Is Brutally Gored in Sevilla in Second Serious Injury This Week," The Spanish Eye, April 23, 2026.
• "Spain News: Country's Most Celebrated Matador Is Gored by Bull Just Minutes After Retirement Comeback," GB News, April 21, 2026.