diff --git a/tools/perf/util/llvm-utils.c b/tools/perf/util/llvm-utils.c
index b5af680fc667..dbdffb6673fe 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/llvm-utils.c
+++ b/tools/perf/util/llvm-utils.c
@@ -265,6 +265,8 @@ static int detect_kbuild_dir(char **kbuild_dir)
 			return -ENOMEM;
 		return 0;
 	}
+	pr_debug("%s: Couldn't find \"%s\", missing kernel-devel package?.\n",
+		 __func__, autoconf_path);
 	free(autoconf_path);
 	return -ENOENT;
 }