diff --git a/.github/workflows/operator-ci.yml b/.github/workflows/operator-ci.yml
index 66420966165..876dbe52463 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/operator-ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/operator-ci.yml
@@ -124,6 +124,7 @@ jobs:
               -Dkc.operator.keycloak.image=keycloak:${{ env.version_remote }} \
               -Dquarkus.kubernetes.env.vars.kc-operator-keycloak-image-pull-policy=Never \
               -Dtest.operator.custom.image=custom-keycloak:${{ env.version_remote }} \
+              -Dtest.operator.client-controllers=true \
               --no-transfer-progress -Dtest.operator.deployment=remote ${PARAMS["${{ matrix.suite }}"]}
 
   test-olm:
diff --git a/operator/scripts/create-olm-bundle.sh b/operator/scripts/create-olm-bundle.sh
index 30c305a17d2..63980df5553 100755
--- a/operator/scripts/create-olm-bundle.sh
+++ b/operator/scripts/create-olm-bundle.sh
@@ -72,6 +72,10 @@ yq ea -i '.spec.install.spec.deployments[0].spec.template.spec.containers[0].env
 # Remove ServiceMonitors GVK from nativeAPIS to allow CSV installation when CRDs not present
 yq ea -i 'del(.spec.nativeAPIs[] | select(.kind == "ServiceMonitor"))' "$CSV_PATH"
 
+# Remove Client CRDs to prevent their usage by default
+yq ea -i 'del(.spec.customresourcedefinitions.owned[] | select(.kind == "KeycloakOIDCClient" or .kind == "KeycloakSAMLClient"))' "$CSV_PATH"
+rm ../olm/$VERSION/manifests/keycloak*clients.k8s.keycloak.org-v1.crd.yml
+
 { set +x; } 2>/dev/null
 echo ""
 echo "Created OLM bundle ok!"
diff --git a/operator/src/main/java/org/keycloak/operator/controllers/KeycloakOIDCClientController.java b/operator/src/main/java/org/keycloak/operator/controllers/KeycloakOIDCClientController.java
index 43f43cf47d0..20661d8c1f6 100644
--- a/operator/src/main/java/org/keycloak/operator/controllers/KeycloakOIDCClientController.java
+++ b/operator/src/main/java/org/keycloak/operator/controllers/KeycloakOIDCClientController.java
@@ -29,7 +29,9 @@ import io.fabric8.kubernetes.api.model.SecretKeySelector;
 import io.fabric8.kubernetes.client.ResourceNotFoundException;
 import io.javaoperatorsdk.operator.api.reconciler.Context;
 import io.javaoperatorsdk.operator.api.reconciler.ControllerConfiguration;
+import io.quarkus.arc.properties.IfBuildProperty;
 
+@IfBuildProperty(name = "test.operator.client-controllers", stringValue = "true")
 @ControllerConfiguration
 public class KeycloakOIDCClientController extends KeycloakClientBaseController<KeycloakOIDCClient, OIDCClientRepresentation, KeycloakOIDCClientRepresentation> {
 
diff --git a/operator/src/main/java/org/keycloak/operator/controllers/KeycloakSAMLClientController.java b/operator/src/main/java/org/keycloak/operator/controllers/KeycloakSAMLClientController.java
index 10eaab24b6a..e685b11a221 100644
--- a/operator/src/main/java/org/keycloak/operator/controllers/KeycloakSAMLClientController.java
+++ b/operator/src/main/java/org/keycloak/operator/controllers/KeycloakSAMLClientController.java
@@ -22,7 +22,9 @@ import org.keycloak.representations.admin.v2.SAMLClientRepresentation;
 
 import io.javaoperatorsdk.operator.api.reconciler.Context;
 import io.javaoperatorsdk.operator.api.reconciler.ControllerConfiguration;
+import io.quarkus.arc.properties.IfBuildProperty;
 
+@IfBuildProperty(name = "test.operator.client-controllers", stringValue = "true")
 @ControllerConfiguration
 public class KeycloakSAMLClientController extends KeycloakClientBaseController<KeycloakSAMLClient, SAMLClientRepresentation, KeycloakSAMLClientRepresentation> {
 
diff --git a/operator/src/test/resources/application.properties b/operator/src/test/resources/application.properties
index 3a8def83424..30414c96976 100644
--- a/operator/src/test/resources/application.properties
+++ b/operator/src/test/resources/application.properties
@@ -13,3 +13,5 @@ kc.operator.keycloak.pod-labels."testLabelWithExpression"=${OPERATOR_TEST_LABEL_
 kc.operator.keycloak.poll-interval-seconds=10
 # Update Pod timeout reduced to 1 min for testing
 kc.operator.keycloak.update-pod-deadline-seconds=60
+
+test.operator.client-controllers=true