diff --git a/builtin/clone.c b/builtin/clone.c
index 0d663e34f78..b66766f8c9d 100644
--- a/builtin/clone.c
+++ b/builtin/clone.c
@@ -704,6 +704,8 @@ int cmd_clone(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		if (option_origin)
 			die(_("--bare and --origin %s options are incompatible."),
 			    option_origin);
+		if (real_git_dir)
+			die(_("--bare and --separate-git-dir are incompatible."));
 		option_no_checkout = 1;
 	}