Where are they now? Every Copa America Golden Boot winner since 2004
The list of Copa America Golden Boot winners varies from some of the best footballers of all time to less heralded names enjoying the tournament of their lives.
Our selection of top scorers since 2004 includes three Brazilians, an Argentinan, a Colombian, a Peruvian who has finished top scorer in three separate tournaments and a Chilean who has achieved the feat twice.
We’ve dug into the archives and identified every Golden Boot winner at the Copa since 2004 – & what they’re up to these days.
2004: Adriano
Every Pro Evo player’s favourite, Adriano top scored at the 2004 Copa America in Peru with seven goals as an inexperienced Brazil won the trophy.
Then at Parma, the striker bagged a later equaliser against Argentina in the final, forcing a penalty shootout which the Selecao won 4-2.
After a tumultuous career, in which Adriano never got over the death of his father earlier in 2004, the 42-year-old is now back in his home country.
READ: ‘Adriano, I want to kill you’ – When The Emperor ruled the Copa America
2007: Robinho
Brazil retained the Copa America in 2007 with Robinho also winning the Golden Boot after scoring six goals.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester City forward is now in prison for rape.
2011, 2015 & 2019: Pablo Guerrero
The prolific Guerrero has earned the Copa America Golden Boot on three separate occasions.
In 2015, he was the joint-top scorer in Chile after netting four goals. Four years earlier. Guerrero scored five goals and won the trophy as Peru finished third in Argentina.
Three goals were enough to be joint top scorer again in 2019, as Peru reached the final before losing to Brazil.
Now 40, Guerrero is playing for Universidad Cesar Vallejo in his home country and was selected by Peru for the 2024 tournament in the United States. You’d imagine it’s his final one.
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2015 & 2016: Eduardo Vargas
Vargas was Mauricio Isla’s fellow Chilean loanee at QPR in that weirdly streets-won’t-forget relegation season of 2014-15. Later that year, he finished joint top scorer with four goals as Chile won their first senior international trophy.
He then won the Golden Boot at this special edition of the Copa America in 2016, and a place in the team of the tournament.
A year after the tournament, Vargas swapped Hoffenheim for Tigres, in Mexico, before signing for Atletico Mineiro in Brazil in 2020. The Chilean is still with Atletico to this day and is in his country’s squad for the 2024 tournament.
2019: Everton
A surprise call-up by Brazil for the 2019 tournament, Everton scored his first international goal in the opening game against Bolivia.
He followed that with a long-range effort against Peru, before scoring against the same opponents in the Maracana final to win the Selecao their most recent international trophy.
Still only 28, the winger currently plays for Flamengo but hasn’t played for his country since 2021 – although Everton retains hope of being selected for the 2026 World Cup.
2021: Lionel Messi
Messi had won everything on offer at Barcelona but his search for international glory with Argentina looked increasingly forlorn as the 2021 Copa America rolled around.
Four goals and a string of Man of the Match performances later, Messi had his prize. The Finalissima and World Cup followed in 2022 and the 37-year-old hopes to retain the Copa this summer in the United States.
Given Messi’s impact on the MLS and soccer in America due to his exploits with Inter Miami, plenty will be willing him and Argentina on.
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every trophy that Lionel Messi has won in his career?
2021: Luis Diaz
Diaz scored four times at the 2021 Copa America, including a jaw-dropping bicycle kick against hosts Brazil, and finished as the competition’s joint-top goalscorer alongside Messi
His scintillating performance for semi-finalists Colombia, allied to good club form at Porto, caught the eye of Europe’s biggest clubs and the winger moved to Liverpool in January 2022.
Two-and-a-half years later and Diaz remains his country’s talisman and is widely regarded as one of the Premier League’s most exciting players on his day.