With the Ronaldo and Adebayor transfer sagas rumbling on, Ian Griffiths believes the beautiful game is turning rather ugly.

I'm sorry, but with just over six weeks to go before the start of the new Premiership season, I have to admit that I am starting to lose patience with several of the league's big names.

Not to put too fine a point on it, the transfer sagas surrounding Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo and Emmanuel Adebayor at Arsenal - let's not also forget Blackburn Rovers' David Bentley here - have made my blood boil.

In a sport where money now seems, for most, to matter far more than the game itself, the shameful pair - they certainly aren't the first and they won't be the last - have made a mockery of the game we all like to think of as being rather beautiful. Here are a few questions for you to ponder on.

Question 1: Since when has a contract not been worth the paper it is written on?

Delve into the Ronaldo saga and you will remember that the Portuguese maestro signed a five-year contract in 2007 and yet he is still desperately trying to manufacture a move to Real Madrid.

Now, in any other walk of life, when you sign on the dotted line for a company, there are certain terms and conditions that you are obliged to follow.

Make no mistake, if you decide to go against the rules you initially agreed to abide by, there will be trouble with a capital T. But footballers, well, they seem to inhabit a different planet. Contracts mean nothing to them and, when the going gets tough, they have no qualms about walking away whilst happily blurting out a sob story or two in a vein attempt to make their case appear feasible.

Question 2: Whatever happened to loyalty?

Does anyone in England's elite division still know how to spell the word, let alone believe in it?

Gone are the days when players remained loyal to the clubs that had given them a career but, whilst I'm not advocating for a minute that professionals should only turn out for one or two teams during their playing days, I do believe that too many of today's stars are startlingly quick to bite the hand that has fed them.

They patently care little for the fans who cheered them or the management team that looked after their every whim. Ronaldo's bond with United and Adebayor's with Arsenal seem to have evaporated in an instant, the duo now seemingly intent on plying their trade elsewhere. Without a doubt, the clubs and supporters concerned deserve better.

Question 3: Why can't footballers be grateful for what they have?

I would like to pass a law that allows punishments to be dished out to any footballer who is caught complaining that he is - amongst other things - tired, poorly paid (take note please Mr Adebayor) or undervalued.

You know the sort of thing: Two months in a factory on shift work, three months on the breadline trying to support a family, a year working nights on a fishing boat in the Malacca Straits. Only then will those precious soles earning astronomical salaries in the Premiership realise that their lot in life is actually rather good, only then will they realise just what it really means to be tired, poorly paid or undervalued.

Many players have had to fight tooth and nail to get where they are today, hardship a constant companion as they grew up wanting to be footballers - they would do well to remember where they came from, put a sock in it and get on doing a job that any of us would give our right arm to do.

Question 4: How much does a footballer have to earn before he is happy?

Quite a lot it would seem. The lure of the pound, euro or whatever has never been stronger and it is this desire for more and more riches that makes many footballers demand higher and higher returns for their toils.

But football cannot tolerate an ever rising wage bill, something has to give and when it does, it is sure to be rather messy. That is of course, unless we can persuade the superstars of today that you can survive - no, honestly you can - on two million pounds a year and that you do not really have to be the owner of five luxury cars.

Players used to be paid comparatively well because the sport they chose only offered a short career. What excuse is there today for the hiked wages - very little in my opinion.

In Conclusion:

I love football and would, more than probably, be lost without it. I respect it for what it has been since the nineteenth century, a way to give millions of people huge amounts of enjoyment whilst allowing a lucky few to make a living from it.

Mark my words, nobody is bigger than football, something several stars in the Premiership would do well to remember.

By Ian Griffiths (Editor - espnstar.com) - Agree with me or disagree? Have your say at streettalk@espnstar.com