Vargas wins Golden Boot award at Copa America Centenario

Chile forward Eduardo Vargas has claimed the 2016 Copa America Centenario Golden Boot award, scoring six of his team's 16 goals in the tournament and beating Argentina star Lionel Messi and his five goals to finish as the competition's top scorer.

Despite leading the pack at the end of the tournament, Vargas' Copa America journey started off slowly, with Jose Fuenzalida and Arturo Vidal finding the back of the net in Chile's first two games of the tournament in Group D.

Vargas scored a pair of goals in his side's third match, though, finding an equalizer in the 15th minute of play against Panama, then adding a second at the stroke of halftime.

His second, an emphatic header, gave Chile a lead that it held to an eventual 4-2 win.

Hungry for more goals after getting a taste against Panama, Vargas propelled Chile to a massive victory over Mexico in the tournament quarter-finals, notching four by himself en route to a 7-0 blowout.

Related: Eduardo Vargas scores 4 goals as Chile piles misery on Mexico

However, those four efforts proved a touch too greedy for the 1899 Hoffenheim man, whose scoring touch abandoned him soon after. Vargas failed to find the back of the net against Colombia in the semi-finals, and also couldn't score against Argentina in the final.

He was replaced before the shootout, so he didn't participate in his team's final push to the title.

Vargas would do well to send Mexico's defenders a thank-you card, since his four goals against El Tri propelled him past Messi in the final standings.

He won't care one bit about how he claimed the accolade, though. In the end, Vargas, and Chile, came out on top.