diff --git a/hw/vfio/pci.c b/hw/vfio/pci.c
index 74f9a46b4b..c0cb1ec289 100644
--- a/hw/vfio/pci.c
+++ b/hw/vfio/pci.c
@@ -1901,12 +1901,6 @@ static int vfio_setup_pcie_cap(VFIOPCIDevice *vdev, int pos, uint8_t size,
                            QEMU_PCI_EXP_LNKCAP_MLS(QEMU_PCI_EXP_LNK_2_5GT), ~0);
             vfio_add_emulated_word(vdev, pos + PCI_EXP_LNKCTL, 0, ~0);
         }
-
-        /* Mark the Link Status bits as emulated to allow virtual negotiation */
-        vfio_add_emulated_word(vdev, pos + PCI_EXP_LNKSTA,
-                               pci_get_word(vdev->pdev.config + pos +
-                                            PCI_EXP_LNKSTA),
-                               PCI_EXP_LNKCAP_MLW | PCI_EXP_LNKCAP_SLS);
     }
 
     /*