diff --git a/migration/multifd.c b/migration/multifd.c
index 697fe86fdf..4374e14a96 100644
--- a/migration/multifd.c
+++ b/migration/multifd.c
@@ -600,6 +600,7 @@ static void *multifd_send_thread(void *opaque)
          * qatomic_store_release() in multifd_send().
          */
         if (qatomic_load_acquire(&p->pending_job)) {
+            p->flags = 0;
             p->iovs_num = 0;
             assert(!multifd_payload_empty(p->data));
 
@@ -651,7 +652,6 @@ static void *multifd_send_thread(void *opaque)
                 }
                 /* p->next_packet_size will always be zero for a SYNC packet */
                 stat64_add(&mig_stats.multifd_bytes, p->packet_len);
-                p->flags = 0;
             }
 
             qatomic_set(&p->pending_sync, false);