diff --git a/src/proto_alpha/lib_protocol/unstake_requests_storage.ml b/src/proto_alpha/lib_protocol/unstake_requests_storage.ml
index 7f2a1e41e2e630c25ee3ae37d51bd02970a5247d..0cc73b3c19bb22d29b5bd703ebea45297c88ac5a 100644
--- a/src/proto_alpha/lib_protocol/unstake_requests_storage.ml
+++ b/src/proto_alpha/lib_protocol/unstake_requests_storage.ml
@@ -97,15 +97,14 @@ let prepare_finalize_unstake ctxt contract =
   let max_slashing_period = Constants_storage.max_slashing_period ctxt in
   let preserved_plus_slashing = preserved_cycles + max_slashing_period in
   let current_cycle = (Raw_context.current_level ctxt).cycle in
-  match Cycle_repr.sub current_cycle preserved_plus_slashing with
-  | None (* no finalizable cycle *) -> return None
-  | Some greatest_finalizable_cycle -> (
-      let* requests_opt =
-        Storage.Contract.Unstake_requests.find ctxt contract
-      in
-      match requests_opt with
-      | None | Some {delegate = _; requests = []} -> return None
-      | Some {delegate; requests} ->
+  let* requests_opt = Storage.Contract.Unstake_requests.find ctxt contract in
+  match requests_opt with
+  | None | Some {delegate = _; requests = []} -> return_none
+  | Some {delegate; requests} -> (
+      match Cycle_repr.sub current_cycle preserved_plus_slashing with
+      | None (* no finalizable cycle *) ->
+          return_some {finalizable = []; unfinalizable = {delegate; requests}}
+      | Some greatest_finalizable_cycle ->
           let* slashing_history_opt =
             Storage.Contract.Slashed_deposits.find
               ctxt
diff --git a/src/proto_alpha/lib_protocol/unstake_requests_storage.mli b/src/proto_alpha/lib_protocol/unstake_requests_storage.mli
index 5d75ee4a97f4b9faf95d04b0e271c01f9d3ecf64..3f6317b942a640d2efd59b7e03a42f1686fd61d8 100644
--- a/src/proto_alpha/lib_protocol/unstake_requests_storage.mli
+++ b/src/proto_alpha/lib_protocol/unstake_requests_storage.mli
@@ -50,8 +50,7 @@ val prepared_finalize_unstake_encoding :
     the [finalizable_field] as well as the remaining unfinalizable requests
     that should be kept in the storage in [unfinalizable].
 
-    It returns [None] if there are no finalizable unstake requests (regardless
-    of whether there are unstake requests at all). *)
+    It returns [None] if there are no unstake requests. *)
 val prepare_finalize_unstake :
   Raw_context.t ->
   Contract_repr.t ->