Are we turning into what the rags were when we couldn't challenge them pre takeover? In other words hating our perceived closest rivals. For me it's the rags and always will be.
Sorry but that's a poor shout aside from that they are maybe(time will tell) our closest challengers right now but lets not forget they finished 4th and to say they didn't care about what position they finished... imagine us doing that CL final or not, it's a bullshit excuse frankly.
So:
a) I don't think we have one clear closest rival at this moment in time and although they have spent a shitload and probably should close the gap this season off the back of that spending spree, that's a new thing where as the detest of Liverpool isn't, it certainly didn't just start this summer that's for sure. It's been growing for several years IMO, it's more prominent now because their antics this year were far more blatant than before, because they feel they are close(their year) which is when they start showing their true colours. There was a reason a lot of neutrals were relieved Real Madrid won, it's because Liverpool happen to be the worst winners in football, they are insufferable, their hype knows no bounds even when they aren't winning, when they've actually got something to cling onto... *shudders*
b) Even if they were our closest rivals, the problem with the Rags and now the Dippers is the unjustified sense of entitlement which by contrast is not the reason City fans detest Liverpool these days... that's mainly because of the way they've acted on and especially off the field(yes and they do seem to be a bogey team).
So if anything it's not City but the Dippers who have become "Rag like", it wasn't City fans saying "it's our year" in 2014... or left spouting bitter shite at the team who won it(close rival?) come May or claiming a rival had no right paying a handsome fee for one of their top young players and so on "because we're dead big and massive and they're not".
I also think Sarri at Chelsea will close the gap on Liverpool, how long that will take depends on their transfers but I was very impressed with his Napoli side. Pochettino is at least as good as Klopp for me too but the purse strings will be tied because of the new stadium for a while but just imagine if Poch was afforded the same as Klopp transfer budget wise and tell me their squad wouldn't be at least as good as Liverpool's(ok they wouldn't have "the Egyptian Messi" but we're talking squads).