A RETIRED matador has been gored to death by a bull as he prepared for a sold-out show.

Ricardo Ortiz, 51, was severely attacked as he helped handle several raging beasts inside their enclosures ahead of an annual bullfighting event in Spain.

Ricardo was working alongside other matadors ahead of the Corrida Picassiana event held at La Malagueta in Málaga.

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Lances de Futuro, the company organising the bullfight, said: “One of the bulls gave [Ortiz] a severe goring that caused his death.

“We want to convey our deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased, a much-loved and respected person in the bullfighting world.”

His death reportedly came on April 3 – a day before the bullfighting event was scheduled to take place.

Bullfight event at Las Ventas arena in Spain

Lances de Futuro went ahead with the event and paid tribute to Ricardo.

A moment of silence was held at the beginning of the bullfight before three matadors took on six bulls.

Ricardo was born in Malaga in 1974 and came from a family of successful bullfighters in Spain, reports El País.

He had retired from bullfighting over two decades but had been working with Lances de Futuro helping out with various bullfighting events.

Spain is infamous for its bullfights with the country putting on 1,500 events each year.

Animal rights experts have spent decades campaigning against bullfighting due to the dangers surrounding the sport.

Malaga Experiences Its Traditional Corrida Picassiana

A month ago, a man was gored to death after being lifted up in the air on the horns of a bull at a separate event in Spain.

Shocking footage shows the worker sprinting towards metal barriers in a packed arena, glancing over his shoulder as the bull barrels towards him.

It comes just months after another fatal goring at a Spanish festival.

Matador Ricardo Ortiz gored to death on eve of annual bullfight in Malaga, Spain | PerthNow

In September, a 57-year-old reveller was killed at the annual Toro del Gayumbo in the picturesque town of Ubrique in Cadiz province.

Video showed the man trying to scramble up metal railings as a bull named Mosquetero charged at him.

The last professional matador to die during a fight in Spain was Victor Barrio in 2016.