diff --git a/builtin/clone.c b/builtin/clone.c
index 559acf9e03..fb377b2765 100644
--- a/builtin/clone.c
+++ b/builtin/clone.c
@@ -1040,8 +1040,10 @@ int cmd_clone(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	init_db(git_dir, real_git_dir, option_template, GIT_HASH_UNKNOWN, NULL,
 		INIT_DB_QUIET);
 
-	if (real_git_dir)
+	if (real_git_dir) {
+		free((char *)git_dir);
 		git_dir = real_git_dir;
+	}
 
 	/*
 	 * additional config can be injected with -c, make sure it's included