diff --git a/src/main/java/org/gcube/socialnetworking/social_data_search_client/ElasticSearchClientImpl.java b/src/main/java/org/gcube/socialnetworking/social_data_search_client/ElasticSearchClientImpl.java
index 6126d93..d65c06e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/gcube/socialnetworking/social_data_search_client/ElasticSearchClientImpl.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/gcube/socialnetworking/social_data_search_client/ElasticSearchClientImpl.java
@@ -181,12 +181,13 @@ public class ElasticSearchClientImpl implements ElasticSearchClientInterface{
 		return response.isFound();	
 
 	}
-	
+
 	@Override
 	protected void finalize() throws Throwable {
 		super.finalize();
 		_log.info("Called finalize.. closing connection to elasticsearch");
-		client.close();
+		if(client != null)
+			client.close();
 	}
-	
+
 }