Does player leverage actually ruin the spirit of the game?

I was reading about some recent transfer drama today, and it just got me thinking about how much the power dynamic has shifted in football. It used to be that if a player wanted out, the club held all the cards unless they were willing to lose the asset for nothing. Now, it feels like a single formal request can turn a club's entire season upside down.

It honestly feels a bit cynical sometimes. I grew up watching players stay at clubs for a decade because they actually cared about the badge, but now it seems like if a certain level of interest comes from a big spender, players immediately start looking for the exit door. It turns the "loyalty" aspect of being a fan into a bit of a joke. You want to support your guys, but how do you do that when they're clearly just using the club as a stepping stone to a bigger paycheck?

Is this just the natural evolution of the business side of sports, or are we losing the soul of the sport because players have too much leverage?