diff --git a/net/net.c b/net/net.c
index 2eb8bc9c0b..fc1125111c 100644
--- a/net/net.c
+++ b/net/net.c
@@ -1737,7 +1737,7 @@ void net_check_clients(void)
 
 static int net_init_client(void *dummy, QemuOpts *opts, Error **errp)
 {
-    const char *model = qemu_opt_get_del(opts, "model");
+    const char *model = qemu_opt_get(opts, "model");
 
     if (is_nic_model_help_option(model)) {
         return 0;